The Morning Watch
My soul waits for the Lord. More than the keepers of the morning watch. More than the keepers of the morning watch. – Psalm 130:6 (adapted)
Sometimes when I read the psalms, I skip over the laments. Psalms like 130 begin with sadness that can feel like buzzkill on a good day: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.” But what if we are not in the depths?
Psalm 130 acknowledges the rhythm of life that includes moments of joy and moments of difficulty. In either place, we will find that our “soul waits for the Lord.” There is always a part of us that needs God. On a sleepless night, in moments of loneliness, in the swirl of complicated emotions on a birthday, in any of these places, we need God close.
That closer walk is just what we have prayed for through (and beyond) Lent. Our discipline of prayer comes directly out of this waiting on God, this sense of anticipation that—as we divert our attention from our usual routines to a deeper time of prayer—God will be there.
Of course, we might be in the depths. And if we are not today, some day we will be. The prayerful practice of engagement with God, no matter the circumstance or feeling of the day, will always, always be worth exercising. It can be as simple as remembering to say “thank you” to God when something goes well.
Maybe our souls are in the holding pattern of endless night, waiting, waiting, waiting for the dawn of a new day, the arrival of a resurrection. Psalm 130 reminds us that life will always include night and day. But, as Psalm 139 reminds us too, night is not night to God, who is always awake with the response to our most fervent prayers.
Prayer
When shadows spend the night, Holy God, please bring us the joy that morning promises.
About the AuthorKaji Douša is the Senior Pastor of The Park Avenue Christian Church, a congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, in New York City.