Needed Reminder

"In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch," (Psalm 5:3).

*Prayer permeated David's experiencing of God, and here he touches on the "when", the "what", and the "how" of his praying.

(a) When: in the morning.

Starting in the sixth grade I learned to play the B flat Clarinet, and became skilled to the point that I went to college on a music scholarship. By the time I went to Seminary, I hadn't played it in several years, but had strong memories of all the concerts, etc. in which I had had a part. When a brother who was discipling me at Seminary asked about my prayer life, I quickly pointed out that I was a "night" person, unable to follow the Lord's example in Mark 1:35. His response was a penetrating question: Back when you played the clarinet, did you warm up before the concert, or afterwards?
No doubt he noted my wince, and said, "The discipline is not in getting up in the morning, it's in going to bed the night before."

(b) What: You will hear my voice, I will order my prayer to You.

Being up in the morning is but the beginning. The enemy of our soul knows that prayer is the place of power. He cares not what is used, i.e., fatigue, distractions, family, etc., as long as he can keep us from praying. We must ask the Lord to increase our wanting Him, to deepen our desire for time with Him, and put on the provided armor of Ephesians 6.

(c) How: eagerly.

No one enrolled David in a prayer workshop, requiring him to keep a quiet time notebook, or preached guilt-producing sermons on prayer, or called him to account for how many hours he spent in prayer.
His attitude was that of one who is in love. No outer coercion was required... his inner love for God resulted in eager seeking. So too, when our hearts are in love with the Lord who bids us come to Him, we say, "Yes, yes, and evermore, yes!"