Waiting Expectantly - The One Year Book of Psalms
Waiting Expectantly
Psalm 5:1-6
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by the flute.
1O LORD, hear me as I pray;
pay attention to my groaning.
2Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
for I will never pray to anyone but you.
3Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD.
Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
4O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness;
you cannot tolerate the slightest sin.
5Therefore, the proud will not be allowed to stand in your presence,
for you hate all who do evil.
6You will destroy those who tell lies.
The LORD detests murderers and deceivers.
In World War I, Field Marshal Foch, the Allied commander in chief, could not be found when a military conference was about to start. An officer friend said, “I think I know where he might be.” Foch was found praying nearby at a bombed-out chapel.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “I would be the greatest fool on earth if I did not realize that I could never satisfy the demands of the high office without the help of One who is greater and stronger than I am.”
David realized this truth, too. Although he was a powerful king, he daily acknowledged his dependence on someone far greater and stronger than he was.
Not only did David begin each day depending on the Lord, but he waited expectantly throughout the day to see how God would work on his behalf. When you live each day looking upward, God often sends delightful surprises.
You are probably not a field marshal, a president, or a king, but your daily needs are important to the Lord, too. And he is just as eager to assist you as he was to assist Marshal Foch, President Lincoln, or even King David. Depend on him today, and await his surprises.
When we don’t pray, we quit the fight.
Prayer keeps the Christian’s armor bright.
And Satan trembles when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees.
WILLIAM COWPER
Fascinating Fact
The little word my appears nearly 450 times in the psalms. The psalmist refers to the Lord as “my King,” “my God,” “my Shepherd,” and “my Rock,” to name a few.
Notable Quotable
“Let not our prayers and praises be the flashes of a hot and hasty brain, but the steady burning of a well-kindled fire.”
CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON
