“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation” (Ps. 5:3, NIV).
This morning, before I was even fully awake, Holy Spirit was breathing this verse into my spirit. I immediately knew He wanted me to share it with you today. How wonderful that this was on His heart for you! Through it, He is saying to you that He hears your voice and you can expect an answer from Him.
He includes the phrase “in the morning” twice in this Scripture. He has added this double emphasis in order to catch our attention. He profoundly desires to be a part of our mornings. If He is one of the first things you and I think about as we are waking up, then He knows He truly has our hearts!
For months now, He has been lovingly instructing me to lie there in bed as I come awake, immediately reaching out for Him. He doesn’t want me to grab my phone yet, or start filling my mind with activity. Instead, He is asking me to spend those first few minutes of consciousness wrapped up intimately with Him, waiting in His presence.
Twice in the last few days, He has drawn my meditation back to the Hebrew concept of waiting on God. We find this idea tucked into our well-loved promise, “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength” (Is. 40:31a, NKJV). The verb “wait” there is qavah in the original language, and it means to bind together or entwine. To wait on God is to be bound together, entwined, interwoven with Him. It is to drink deeply of our oneness with Him.
This is what He’s been inviting me to do during my waking process. This invitation is for you too! He yearns for you and me to focus on being intertwined with Him before the rush of the day begins. This will help sync us with His heart. It will help us lean into total dependence on Holy Spirit for everything else that He has planned for the day.
From the entwined place with Him flows the rest of Psalm 5:3. When I have intermingled purposefully with His closeness, any petitions that I have will naturally flow between my spirit and His. “I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” When I have connected once again with how inexpressibly He loves me, expectation rises up within me that He has heard my voice, and He is answering my prayer.
I will share with you that, even though He has been working on this with me for a while, it still does not always come easily. There are definitely mornings where I struggle to ignore the magnetic pull of my phone. Some days, our souls simply require more quieting in His presence than other days. Holy Spirit wants us to patiently push forward, always giving ourselves abundant grace for the growth process.
Why don’t you try it? Even if you have to set your alarm a few minutes earlier than usual, I can tell you from what I’ve been experiencing that it is exceedingly worth it. With your eyes still closed, reach out for Him. Intertwine with Him. Soak in His nearness and His devotion to you. Invite Him to lead you throughout the entire day. Lavish your own love on Him.
What a difference this will make for the rest of your waking hours!
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How does the concept of intertwining with God inform your perspective of waiting on Him?
Feeding On Jesus 
Expressed so beautifully, so eloquently!
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Thank you so very much, Teresa! Much love to you today! ❤ ❤
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Thankyou for this reminder to reach out to Him the first thing in the morning.
I admit, it is so tempting to reach for the phone when I wake up.
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It really is! It continues to be a decision of my will as opposed to coming automatically, but I am always so glad when I do!
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That waiting you speak of Jennifer is much like the passion one feels for their beloved when they are overcome by love. You just wait for their every word, content to lie there and listen to them breathe beside you. Watching their every move. Your whole being wrapped up in the other. It is a place where you lose yourself in your beloved.
I know the waiting you speak of. Even after 30 years of marriage my wife is this way with me and I with her. But this is only a weak and failing image of our love for our Beloved and His passion for us. He waits in breathless anticipation for us to acknowledge Him so He can fill us with love. When we return that love, losing ourselves to focus solely on the Beloved, something wonderful happens. The joy, the peace, the passionate embrace of His love overwhelms and we are lost in His embrace. That is the love we see as we lay on the bed waiting and watching our Beloved.
Yeah…good times. 😉
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My heart smiles deeply to hear that you still share such a love with your precious wife. What an inexpressible gift! And yes, what a marvelous picture of what He holds out to us!
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My mornings would be empty without Him and the time devoted to Him. I take his instruction to wait faithfully as an opportunity to dwell on and with Him and life inevitably rises from His touch
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Beautifully put, Jeff. “Life inevitably rises from His touch.” That’s it exactly. Thank you!
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Amen. Starting the day with God and ending the day with God, makes inbetween good even if bad things happen.:)
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I REALLY like how you put that, Bonnie. You know, you make me smile joyfully a lot!
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I am glad. Love in Christ.:)
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Love back to you! ❤
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I love this verse and this concept, Jennifer. I find myself saying nearly every day, “Good morning, Lord! It’s another day! Thank you!” as soon as I wake up. I agree – leave the devices alone for a few minutes and just pray for a bit first.
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You put a joyful smile on my face with that, Meredith! I could feel His joy at your thankful heart. You make me want to add “Thank You!” onto my verse 🙂 🙂
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Jennifer, I appreciated your thoughts, and I found myself reading Psalm 5. My devotional time needed more substance this morning.
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I’m so glad they were helpful! 🙂
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