~ I find Psalm 5:3 to be interesting because it is not simply about praying, but it is also about how we are to watch and wait subsequent to praying.

“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
    in the morning I lay my requests before you
    and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3, NIV).

O Yahweh, in the morning, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch (Psalm 5:3, LSB).

Lord, in the morning you will hear me; in the morning I will present my case to you and then wait expectantly for an answer. (Psalm 5:3, NET).

My voice shalt Thou hear in the boker, Hashem; in the boker will I bring my prayer before Thee as a spiritual sacrifice and wait for an answer (Psalm 5:3, OJB).

“Lord, in the morning you hear my voice. In the morning I pray to you. I wait for you in hope.” (Psalm 5:3, NIRV).

The Hebrew Picture: Tsafah

~ The verses above use the word, tsafah, צָפָה, which involves the idea of waiting in an eager or expectant fashion. It is eyes-wide-open waiting. It is bated breath waiting. You are scanning the horizon constantly, in hopeful anticipation to see what God will do.

~ The waiting is also seen in the following verses (same Hebrew word, צָפָה (tsafah)) also:

“I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; and I will keep watch (אֲצַפֶּה) to see what He will speak to me” (Habakkuk 2:1).

“But as for me,
I will watch expectantly (אֲצַפֶּה – atzappeh, from צָפָה)
     for the LORD;
I will wait (אָיָחֵל – ayachel, from יָחַל)
     for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me”
(Micah 7:7).

~ Note the parallel, I will watch and I will wait. This emphasizes the fact that Micah prays and then assumes a posture of expectant waiting on the Lord.

~ Prayer involves discipline (“I will order my prayer…”) and devotion (“and eagerly watch”). I think that the ordering can involve either laying things intentionally before God, one by one, or making a case as in the following verse.

“‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the Lord. . .” (Isaiah 1:18).

~ Note: This does not mean messy prayers are not heard. God hears everything and when we feel that our prayers are failing, we need to remember that we have an Intercessor. However, sometimes, if nothing else but for our clarity, we need to order our prayers to know our own hearts better.

Prayer’s Expiry: When God Does Not Say When

~ A prayer does not officially end when the amen sounds. It ends when God answers. You start the prayer. God completes it. Until God answers, it remains incomplete.

Do not let a prayer request dissolve off into the past. Wait on God. It is said that there are three answers that God gives us: Yes, No and Not Yet. However, many of us settle for an ambiguous silence. Do not let a prayer request become forgotten. Keep the prayer request warm up above until God answers.

Press on, on your knees, and be expectant for an answer from God.