By: Kendra McDaniel
Psalm 5:3 “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.”
Every Sunday night, we have our family over to the house. Last Sunday, my 4-year-old grandson was yelling my name throughout the house, but the noise was too loud to hear him … people talking, kids running, and the roar of a football game on TV. Suddenly, the noise dampened, and I heard his little voice calling.
I responded, “Yes, Emmett, what can I do for you?” You better believe he got exactly what he asked for!
How many times have we felt like the Holy Spirit wasn’t speaking when it was just that His voice was being drowned out by the noise? The Holy Spirit is speaking to each of us, but we must intentionally shut out the other noises in order to hear His voice.
Psalm 63:1 says, “O my God, early in the morning will I seek you, my soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you”.
Why is seeking to hear God in the morning so important?
1. You honor God as the most important part of your day.
2. You seek His presence before you face the circumstances of your day.
3. You feed your Spirit before you feed your body.
4. You hear from the Holy Spirit before you hear from people.
5. It is biblical! Psalm 5:3 says “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.”
Watchman Nee said, “No Bible, no breakfast! If I get up in the morning and I don’t have time to read my Bible, then I don’t have any breakfast until I get to that place where I’m pouring over my Bible before God and bringing my prayers to the throne of grace.”
Martin Luther said, “If I fail to spend two hours in prayer in the morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. If I should neglect prayer but a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith”.
We find the disciples in the synagogue early in the morning praying and Jesus was found early in the morning in the place of prayer.
Throughout scripture we find Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Hannah, Samuel and David seeking the Lord early.
Personally, I practice a morning watch, setting my alarm early and finding my quiet place to worship. Here I ask the Holy Spirit to give me what I need for the day and then journal what He speaks.
Matt. 5:6, “God blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied.”
Ps. 37:7, “Be still in the presence of the Lord, wait patiently for Him to act.”
Psalm 62:5, “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him.”
Jer. 29:13, “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.”
If we aim to live a victorious life and do the will of the Father, we must intentionally quiet the noise to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit!