By: Aaron Cozort
A common question asked in casual conversation is, “Are you a morning person or a night owl?” By habit, biological reasons we may not understand or even by necessity, some people choose to arise from bed early and some get up late. No matter where you fall on this spectrum, one thing that is certain is that you woke up today, and Lord willing, you will arise again tomorrow.
An appropriate question is, “What do we do with our time when we wake?” Do we reach for the technology device of choice and start on email or social media? Do we turn on music or the radio to distract ourselves as we prepare for another day? Are we immediately engrossed in the to-do list that we prepared the night before? Do we punch the snooze button repeatedly until we must scurry around like startled rats to get out the door?
Whatever your morning routine, the truth we should consider is that each day belongs to the Lord. He has blessed us with the day, with the life and the opportunity of another day of existence, and we should consider how to begin that opportunity, how we honor that gift and how we maximize that benevolence.
Here’s a curious paradox: On earth, a servant waits upon his master. Yet, our loving Master waits upon His servants. What, then, could we do with our time in the morning? King David admonished through his example of praying in the morning. “Give ear to my words, O Lord, Consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray. My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You” (Psalm 5:1-4 NKJV). David emphasized the contrast between the Lord’s reaction to the prayers of His children and His response to the wicked. He has no pleasure in the evil and the disobedient of this world and does not dwell with Him.
The sharp contrast is the God who desires to hear and see His people, Who makes His home with them and desires their communication and fellowship. How do we apply this? God expectantly awaits our prayers in the morning, and David anticipated looking up to God. When we realize that everything that matters in life is in view of eternity, then we should begin our day looking up and in prayer to the One Who desires to hear from us. Lest we imagine that God expects us to arrive to those prayers every morning always full of joy, hope for the future and happiness, ready to tackle the day, we can learn from the sons of Korah in another Psalm.
Psalm 88:13 reads, “But to You I have cried out, O Lord, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.” When you examine the Psalm, you find that the psalmist writer was not approaching prayer with joy but with dismay.
O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You. Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draws near to the grave. I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength, Adrift among the dead, Like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You remember no more, And who are cut off from Your hand. You have laid me in the lowest pit, In darkness, in the depths. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah (Psalm 88:1–7).
On the good days and the bad, we should start our day by looking to the One Who can direct our paths, teach us to number our days and affect the outcome of our current situation and eternal destiny.
