This article is about a constant prayer life and our prayer patterns. Psalm 55:16 is discussed.

Source: Clarion, 1999. 2 pages.

At Evening, Morning and Noon: Constantly Calling on the LORD

But I call to God; and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I call out in distress, and He hears my voice.

Psalm 55:16

When the going gets tough, the tough get going! This is not, however, true for King David when he wrote Psalm 55. Reading Psalm 55, we do not get the impression of a tough David, an aggressive David! Rather, we get quite the opposite impression! King David is going nowhere on his own! He is crying out to God. He is calling out to God: “Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my supplication.” David is in need. Someone must care for him. He must be answered. David is overcome by his trouble. He is distraught by the noise of the enemy. The oppression of the wicked is too much for him. David is experiencing real calamity!

As we read in verse 9b, David sees violence and strife in the city. Day and night people prowl about on the city walls. Malice and abuse are within the city. Destructive forces are at work in the city. Threats and lies never leave its streets. In the midst of this, a friend has stabbed King David in the back. Yes, a friend has been caught up in all this trouble and strife. That is why David is so distraught, so very troubled. If it had been an enemy who had insulted him, he could have borne it. If it had been an adversary who had dealt so nastily with him, he could have hid. “But it is you, my friend,” as he says in verse 13.

But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship, as we walked with the throng at the house of God.

What kind of friend was this? He spoke so smoothly. His words, smoother than butter; yet there was war in his heart. His words, softer than oil; yet they were drawn swords. Just who this friend was we do not know for sure. Some say it was Ahithophel, one of David’s close advisors, who turned on him in Absalom’s rebellion. Nevertheless, King David experiences this calamity. And David is not so tough! It is too much for him! This calamity overwhelms him. He would like to escape reality. As David says:“O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest – I would flee far away and stay in the desert.”

Some brave men may delight in facing such terrible calamity, but not David. And yet David keeps going. David does not get going. He keeps going with the Lord God. He testifies,

But I call upon God and the Lord will save me, evening and morning and at noon, I utter my complaint and moan and He will hear my voice.Psalm 55:16, 17

David keeps going with the Lord God. He goes with the Lord God, in the evening, and the morning and at noon.

David has a practice of praying in the evening and the morning and at noon. David is established in his prayer life. He does not start praying only when calamity and trouble come upon him. No, he has a stable prayer life. There is a pattern in his prayer life. These are the times he speaks with God! These are the times when he converses with his Creator and Redeemer. These are the times when he asks for God’s grace and Spirit, to sustain him, to keep him going. There is nothing haphazard about his prayer life. There is nothing irregular about it at all. In the evening and morning and at noon, David prays. David is not alone among the Old Testament saints in having a consistent prayer life. Daniel, who came later, was no different. Daniel went on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks (Daniel 6:10, 11). Those who wanted to trap Daniel found him making prayer and supplication before his God!

David too, prayed in the evening and morning and at noon. He started his day with prayer. For the people of Israel, the new day began in the evening. So David’s first prayer of the day was in the evening. The next prayer was the following morning; the last prayer for the day was at noon. David began his day with prayer, continued his day in prayer, and ended his day in prayer. When calamity struck in David’s life, he did not start praying. He continued praying, calling on the Lord. And the Lord heard. As David writes: and the Lord saves me...

He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. And as David says near the end of the Psalm: cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you, He will never let you fall. Indeed the Lord God is faithful! He is sure and reliable! He will not forsake us, as those so close around us may do. He is the anchor in our lives! But do we ask Him for what He has promised? Do we ask for his grace and Spirit to sustain us as we go through life’s storms and tempests?

Do we ask Him in the morning and in the evening and at noon? Are we constantly calling on God in prayer? Or do we call on God just in the tough and troubled and trying times! Constant prayer is very important as we lead our busy lives. For only by constantly asking God in prayer will we receive his grace and Spirit to sustain in all situations of life, be they good or bad.

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