Psalm 119:147

We come to the third verse in this octave of Psalm 119 entitled Koph and we find the psalmist crying yet again to his God.

Psalms 119:147  I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word.

This makes three times in a row in which the psalmist said he cried unto God.  Thomas Manton pointed out occasions where we read of others in Scripture who prayed three times for something.  It is written of our Lord that in the Garden of Gethsemane He “went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words” (Matthew 26:44).  The apostle Paul “besought the Lord thrice” that his thorn in the flesh might be removed (2Corinthians 12:8).  Elijah stretched himself upon the widow’s dead child “three times, and cried unto the LORD” for the life of the child to be restored (1Kings 17:21).  I find all this to be an interesting “coincidence”? 

And then we read of Daniel who “kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed….” (Daniel 6:10).  Lastly, notice that David cried to God three times a day:

Psalms 55:17  Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

In today’s verse the psalmist stated that he prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried.

Prevent – To act before, in anticipation of, or in preparation for (a future event, or a point of time, esp. the time fixed for the act); to act as if the event or time had already come.

The psalmist cried to God before the day dawned.  He was up before sunrise fervently engaged in prayer.  There is no better way to meet the approaching day with whatever duties, challenges, and temptations it may contain than by calling upon the Lord in prayer.

Psalms 5:3  My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

Psalms 88:13  But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.

Isaiah 26:9  …yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early….

I deem it a good practice when you awaken in the morning to roll out of bed onto your knees and begin the day by calling upon the Lord.  This will get the day started on the right foot, or perhaps I should say, the right knee. 

And let us not overlook that our blessed Saviour Himself prevented the dawning of the morning that He might pray to His Father and God.

Mark 1:35  And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

Now just what was it that prompted the psalmist to be so diligent in prayer?  The answer lies in the second half of today’s verse:  I hoped in thy word.  God’s word makes rich promises to those who call upon the Lord, promises that encourage them to hope.

Psalms 86:5  For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

Psalms 86:7  In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

Psalms 91:15  He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

Jeremiah 33:3  Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

Romans 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

These promises are from the mouth of God that cannot lie.  Believing them imparts hope.  We expect the Lord to do just what He says He will do unto those that call upon His name.  Even if you do not experience immediate relief when you pray, you can still hope in God’s word as did the psalmist.  Those who hope in God never hope in vain.  In the end, the promise will always come.

Habakkuk 2:3  For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

If you find yourself becoming lax in prayer, it is likely owing to the fact that you do not expect much to come of it.  Weak hope will result in weak prayers.  If you would be more hopeful, try praying more diligently even to the point of crying to God.  Cry to God to fan the fires of your hope.  And as hope thrives, so shall your prayer life.  Prayer and hope work in tandem.  Hope incites prayer and praying we have hope.  It is as Charles Spurgeon wrote:  “He who is diligent in prayer will never be destitute of hope.”