Psalm 5 "Give ear to my words O Lord, consider my groaning. Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. In the morning, O Lord, you will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to you and eagerly watch." Psalm 5:1-3
These are some of my favorite and most familiar lines of the Psalms. Multiple choruses have cemented these words in my mind and I find them very helpful and encouraging in prayer. But it is also an encouragement that comes with a responsibility: "I will order my prayer to you and eagerly watch." I often pray that the Lord will give me the opportunity in a day to share the Gospel with at least one person. He virtually always says yes to that prayer. But I must also be alert and expectant. Sometimes God has provided the opportunity but I have not spoken up or was simply not paying attention. But many times too God has reminded me, as the moment was happening, that this is the answer to my prayer and so speak up! When we pray for or about things, we should be on the alert for God's response to our prayers. This will strengthen our faith. But it will also challenge our faith as well because many times God seems to answer in His own way which doesn't quite match our expectation. The result is that we get to know who our God really is, rather than the God that we thought He should be. But the Psalmist is confident and so should we be in the covenant love of God and His faithful goodness toward His creatures. Even though God might not be exactly what we expected, He is nevertheless demonstrably good and faithful.
"For it is you who blesses the righteous man, O Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield." Psalm 5:12
It is for the favor of God that I pray and for that I will also eagerly watch.