My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up.
—Psalm 62:1
The Lord GOD…He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
—Isaiah 50:4
Morning has always been considered the time best suited for personal worship by God’s servants. Most Christians regard it as a privilege to devote the beginning of the day to seek fellowship with God. Many Christians observe the morning watch, while others speak of it as the quiet time. Whether they think of a whole hour or half an hour or a quarter of an hour, agree with the psalmist when he said, “My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord.”
A well‑known Christian leader has said, “Next to receiving Christ as Savior and claiming the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we know of no act that brings greater good to ourselves or others than the determination to keep the morning watch, and spend the first half hour of the day alone with God.” At first glance this statement appears too strong. The determination to keep the morning watch hardly appears sufficiently important to be compared to receiving Christ and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. However, it is true that it is impossible to maintain a Christian walk in the leading and power of the Holy Spirit, without daily fellowship with God. The morning watch is the position in which the surrender to Christ and the Holy Spirit can be fully maintained.
The morning watch must not be regarded as an end in itself. It is to serve to secure the presence of Christ for the whole day. Personal devotion to Jesus means that we allow nothing to separate us from Him. To abide in Him, kept by Him, doing His will—this cannot be an irregular practice if we are truly devoted to Him.
The believer who has made devotion to Christ his watchword will find in the morning hour the place where his holy calling is renewed. During this quiet time, his will is fortified to walk worthy of his calling. (See Ephesians 4:1.) His faith is rewarded by the presence of Christ who is waiting to meet him and take charge of him for the day. “We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Romans 8:37). A living Christ waits to meet us.