Jump Start # 1358

Psalms 5:3 “In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.”

  What a wonderful passage this is! It is a beautiful way to begin the day. In the morning, you will hear my voice—is such an encouraging thought. We’d all do well if we could begin the day this way. Often, we’ve over slept, the day begins with the cat throwing up, the kids can’t find something they need for school and we are running behind schedule and the day just falls apart. Prayers are put on the back burner because we are running the moment we get up. Frustrated, tired, and earth bound, our souls hunger for God.

Two simple thoughts from our verse today:

First, the Psalmist, David, was declaring, promising and remembering to pray to God in the morning. This was as much for him as it was for God. We tend to keep our promises. Telling God that He will hear your voice in the morning is something that will be stirring around in your brain as you sleep. You awaken with that thought and ready to come to the throne of grace. There are so many things to pray about each morning. Just look at your day. There’s the need to pray for safe travels and good health. There are prayers of thanksgiving for health, home and family. There are prayers for open doors to shine the light of Jesus as you go about the day. There are blessings for our food. Then there are all the others. Church members in the hospital, up coming weddings and surgeries, folks that are struggling—there is a whole list here to pray about. Then there are those who do not know Jesus. That’s a bunch. Much to talk to God about. Then there are the deeper things, such as your heart, character and growth. You will hear my voice in the morning. Maybe David said that because he was going to use the evening to get his thoughts together. Instead of rambling and hodge podge arrows shot into the Heavens, he was going to give it some serious thought. We’d do that in other areas. If you were going to ask your boss for a raise, you wouldn’t just schedule a meeting and wing it. You’d put some thought into it. If you got to meet someone famous or have a meeting with your senator, you’d put some thought into it. I can tell that most folks when they want to talk to me, have given their concerns and questions some thought. The prodigal practiced what he was going to say to his father as he walked home. He put some thought into it. I’ll talk to you in the morning, God. Love that idea. A thought out, planned prayer.

Second, David uses the expression, “I will.” In fact, more than 100 times in Psalms, the phrase, “I will” is used. This is more than just an affirmation. We hear the bride and groom saying, “I do” or “I will” at weddings. This is a promise that they are making. This is something that they plan on doing. They will be faithful. They will honor one another. Here and throughout this book, David is affirming and promising to God. This is something that I will do.

David’s ‘I will,’ speaks of a commitment toward God. He’s telling God that He can count upon David. I will. We’ve lost that idea it seems. More are interested in what God will do rather than what they will do toward God. They want to know what they will get. They want to know what God will do for them. They are interested in the receiving end of things. The ‘I will’ statements are about the giving side of things. These are things I will do. These are things that you can count on me.

If you were going to make a list of ‘I wills’ for God, what would you say? Here’s my simple list:

• I will talk to You today
• I will honor You by obeying You today
• I will treat my family as You want me to
• I will sing a song of praise to You
• I will be Your hands today as I help another
• I will use the talents You have given me to Your glory

I will. How about your list? Start with ‘I will _________________’ and then fill in the bland for God. This will help you. You are promising to God. As the bride says, “I do,” to her husband, we are saying, “I do,’” to our God.

I will _________________________

I will _________________________

I will _________________________

I will _________________________

Four simple ‘I wills’ from you to God for today. Try it. It might change the outcome of your day.

Roger