The 5-Minute Prayer Primer: God Hears Me in the Morning
Lately, I have been waking up without an alarm. I have heard rumors that this kind of internal clock will come with old age… evidently, it’s here. I’m a millennial so I don’t have an alarm clock. I instinctively grab my phone to see what time it is. Already, I have emails.
I’ve been awake for 12 seconds and I have my inbox open.
By the time I get downstairs I have forty-five minutes carved out before my family wakes up. This is time I want to spend with Jesus– in His Word and in prayer. However, I am no longer in the contemplative headspace I was hoping would start my day.
Can you relate?
Recently, Christ met me in my frustration and anxiety while reading Psalm 5. The whole Psalm is good– I have often gone back to it– but there is a treasure in verse 3 that primes my morning prayer life.
“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
In the morning I plead my case to you and watch expectantly.” (CSB)
I have marked this passage in my Bible and seared it into my brain in hopes that it takes root in the foundation of my heart. Like a primer that ignites a bullet, the Truth in this passage prepares my heart for the discipline of conversing with Jesus.
I want to have a conversation with Jesus. This is the basis of prayer.
God’s Truth: A God who Hears
God hears my voice. That is so simple and can be lost in our apathetic understanding of Christian principles but we put our faith in a God who cares. He cares for me because He loves me. He proves His love for me by being attentive and present when I speak to Him. David puts it so simply– He hears me. I think He wants to hear from you, too.
My Action: The Proper Response
Because a God who loves and cares for me wants to hear my voice, I am moved to action. I plead my case to God as an outflow of who He is.
What case do I lay out in front of Jesus today? Do I plead David’s case? I’m not sure what David was going through when he wrote this Psalm but it sounds like he was fearing for his life. My life is pretty physically safe. Jesus wants me to plead my case! I find myself laying out my anxieties and my fears in front of Jesus. I speak with Him about the responsibilities He allows me to manage that seem overwhelming. I beg Him for big things– like to bring my kids into a relationship with Him– and I petition Him for smaller things– that I may be successful in this financial venture. This is my caseload.
Finally, knowing I shared my anxious heart with the One who cares for me I can watch expectantly for His provision. Jesus doesn’t answer all my prayers in the way I want but I still trust Him. I trust Him to answer my prayers in His all powerful wisdom.
“Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.”
- Jesus (Matthew 7:9-11)
This God that loves me knows how to give incredible gifts!
Your Opportunity: Here’s How to Pray in 5 Minutes
You can start your day the same way as David. I challenge you to read through Psalm 5 in preparation for just 5 minutes of prayer time– set your timer and hold yourself to it.
Pull out a journal or phone note and write your prayer. I can already hear the rebuttal… that’s not how I talk to God. Give it a try! Write down “Jesus” as if you were addressing a letter to Him. Steal David’s words and pray the Psalm back to the God who wants to hear from you; this will be your primer for the next five minutes.
Here’s an example of a prayer I wrote as I trained two college students to pray:
Jesus,
In the morning You hear my voice. In the morning I plead my case to You and watch expectantly.
I am so thankful that You actually want to hear my voice. You want me to come to You every morning. You want me to fully depend on You— not in my coffee or my breakfast but in You. The fact that You want to know me so intimately says much more about You than it does me.
Please help me to know you more today. Do something in my life that is worthy to be shared with others. I wait expectantly for what You will do in the lives of these men I am sitting with.
I can enter Your house in abundance because You love me. Help me to understand that love as your beloved son.
I have many requests to make of you, in light of Your glory they seem so small, but I know you haven’t forgotten them.
Make me the man You want me to be.
Amen