The Morning Watch

Psalms 5:3 KJV 3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. Isaiah 50:4 KJV 4 The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. From the earliest times God's servants have set aside a time in the morning as a special time for prayer and listening for God to speak His Word. God never changes nor does man's need to devote some portion of the beginning of the day to retreat from busyness and to fellowship with God. One could give this morning time different names such as: a time to be still, a quiet time, the secret place, or the morning watch. This time is the most important time of the day. It could be a half hour, an hour, or a few hours. What's most important is that we become resolutely determined to keep the morning watch and spend the first part of the day alone with God before the demands of the day begin. After receiving Jesus as Savior the morning watch may be next in importance. At first it would seem that the morning watch could never be placed next to receiving Jesus as Savior in only slightly less importance. But when considering how impossible it is to live with any sense of freedom and leading of the Holy Spirit without close fellowship with God, we can then understand the value and purpose of the morning watch. It is during the consistent time spent in waiting on the Lord and watching to see what He will say that wisdom, strengthening, and refreshing is imparted. The morning watch is a time when we are rewarded with His presence and His guidance. Isaiah 40:28-31 KJV 28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. The weariness and feebleness of some believers is the result of being too busy for the morning watch. Every believer should maintain a fixed determination that Christ Jesus shall have his/her whole life; which the Holy Spirit shall in everything be fully obeyed. The morning watch is the key to be positioned to live a life of surrender to the will of God and where the closeness of the Holy Spirit can be consistently maintained. The morning watch is not an end in itself; it is more than a time set aside for receiving refreshment and encouragement. The morning watch should secure the presence of God for the entire day. It should be a time to make a place within the heart where no amount of busyness or distractions of the day can occupy our full attention. Personal loyalty to Jesus means that we allow nothing to separate us from our devotion and sensitivity to Him. To love Him is to do those things that are pleasing in His sight. To abide in Him and to stay connected to Him cannot be an intermittent thing to anyone who is steadfastly devoted to Him. A fully devoted follower of Jesus refuses to be content with anything less than to abide always in His love and in His will. These loyalties and devotions are established firmly within the heart of those who keep the morning watch faithfully. If one wants to secure the presence of Christ throughout the day consider the morning watch as the means to this end. The success of each day depends upon the clearness and strength of the faith that seeks, finds, and holds firmly to Him. It is vital that the link between us and Jesus be renewed and firmly fastened each day in the morning hours before the demands of the day attempt to assail us. We must be prepared for what the day will bring. This cannot happen after the day has ended. The morning watch is the time to prepare for the day ahead. The cares, pleasures, and temptations of the day may try to disturb the refreshing rest we enjoyed in the morning watch but when we are firmly rooted in the character of Christ the fruit of our abiding in Him will show through even during the challenges of the day. Any successful person understands the importance of a fixed will and a determined purpose if any degree of success is to be realized. How much more should a disciple of Christ be determined with fixed purpose to establish and maintain the morning watch? The time given to the morning watch will be richly rewarded. We will be renewed with a sense of purpose in prayer and study of the scripture as well as a new living faith. The morning watch will become the one essential thing and whole hearted purpose of securing His presence for the day. Whatever effort, determination, or self denial it may cost to keep the morning watch the prize will far exceed the cost. The morning watch will become a daily grace in strengthening our whole person and our personal relationship with the Lord. The morning watch will be the place day after day where the insight into His holy calling is renewed; where our faith is strengthened by His holy presence. During the morning watch He will make us to know that we are "...more than conquerors through him that loved us." [Romans 8:37] Romans 8:37 KJV 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. The living Savior awaits you in the morning watch!