More than Dawn Watchers

At Calvary Chapel Sydney, we have a weekly prayer meeting which begins at 6am.  When I visited Calvary Chapel Santee in the USA, I was pleased to hear they also have a weekly prayer meeting on the same day at the same time!  They call their time of seeking the LORD the "Dawn Watch" prayer meeting.  A great name, I thought.  Since we're on the other side of the world they won't care if we use the same name for our prayer meeting, right?  Prayer is intended to be a great privilege and delight for every believer.  While others might be sleeping, I want to be one who is watchful and expectantly waiting on the LORD.

A scripture association which comes to mind with the name "Dawn Watch" is Psalm 130:6:  "My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning-- yes, more than those who watch for the morning."  Who are those who watch for the morning?  One example is seen in Job 7:4:  "When I lie down, I say, 'When shall I arise, and the night be ended?' For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn."  Job grieved the loss of his children and health, and spent his nights in sleeplessness.  He had been afflicted by the hand of Satan and could find no comfort even among his wife or friends.  Another example is seen in the book of Acts when Paul endured a storm on the sea.  For many days no one had eaten food and their chance of survival seemed slim.  After Paul shared a word of encouragement from the LORD, the words in Acts 27:29 well-describe the watchfulness of the crew:  "Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come."  These stories share the same themes:  intense suffering, lack of rest, and counting on the new day to bring fresh hope and consolation.

These examples of those who wait for the morning add force to what the Psalmist says:  "My soul waits for the LORD more than those who watch for the morning..."  This is the kind of intensity which should mark our praying.  We should seek God with more fervency than a man who has tossed and turned in agony all night.  We should desire to enter into the presence of God with more urgency then desperate men fighting for their lives.  When we take our eyes off Jesus, it is easy for us to despair.  It is natural for us to be overwhelmed by circumstances out of our control.  Our lack of entering into God's throne room of grace with prayer compounds our struggles.

But praise be to God, who has given us an advocate in Jesus Christ!  No matter how the wind and seas might rage, He is able to calm them with a word!  I love the story when Jesus slept through a fierce storm as His disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee.  Panicked, they woke up Jesus and screamed, "Jesus!  Don't you care that we are perishing?"  In their minds they were thinking, "Do something to help out, Jesus!  Grab and oar, control the rudder, help us get these sails down!  Give us a hand!"  But Jesus did something so unexpected, so divine, that they were dumbfounded.  Mark 4:39 reads, "Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm."  They wanted Jesus to grab an oar:  Jesus planned to still the storm.

Out of the depths of suffering comes great hope in God.  The lamentations of Jeremiah contain the gut-wrenching consequences of sin.  Even in the midst of darkness, God's promises and truth shone bright.  If those words were written in times of ease and plenty, they would not hold half the significance they do, being spoken out of suffering few have endured.   Lamentations 3:21-26 states, "This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. ²² Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. ²³ They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ²⁴ "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" ²⁵ The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. ²⁶ It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD."

Do you seek God more than those who watch for the morning?  May we be numbered among them, for great is God's faithfulness!