January 6
Verse of the Day for January 6
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.Psalm 5:3 KJV
The Key of Beginnings · Day 6 of 31
Reflection · 3 min read
And Will Look Up
David is describing a morning, and he describes it in three movements, each of which is deliberate.
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
My voice shalt thou hear. I will direct my prayer unto thee. And will look up.
The middle phrase is the one that gets lost in modern English. To direct is a word used for laying wood in order on an altar, or for setting out an argument. It is arrangement, not outpouring.
So the morning is not only saying things to God. It is putting them in order before Him — this first, then this, then this. Naming what the day holds rather than feeling generally anxious about it.
And then, having laid it out, he looks up. He watches for the answer. The prayer is not filed and forgotten by breakfast.
Lay it out in order.Then look up.
An unshaped dread handed to God at speed is better than nothing. But there is something steadying about setting the day out in front of Him piece by piece.
Then expect an answer. That is what looking up means.
Carry this today
Do you pray in the morning, or only react all day?
Pray
Read Psalm 5:1–3
1[To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David.] Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. 2Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. 3My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
Keep praying
Reflection by Collins Asein, from the daily devotionals in the PrayerKey app. Bible text: King James Version.