“Give ear, O Lord, to my words, understand my cry. Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God. For to thee will I pray: O Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear my voice. In the morning I will stand before thee, and will see: because thou art not a God that willest iniquity.”
Let your heart cry out to God from the depths: “Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord” (Psalm 129:1), let your heart align with the words of the Psalter. Something is not heard by the other if it is not heard, understood, or the hearer’s attention is elsewhere, and none of these are true of God. He hears every movement of your heart, understands the depths from which they come, for He has walked through the miseries of life to know you and connect with you, and never turns His eyes from you. This beginning is meant to pull your heart from a place of distractedness into a deep pleading with God, to in a sense tune the strings of your heart that it may make sweet music to your King. Thus, there is a request for Him to turn His ears to the lyre of your heart: “Give praise to the Lord on the harp; sing to him with the psaltery, the instrument of ten strings” (Psalm 32:2). What a beautiful morning prayer, to come into the King’s court and sing to Him: “David took his harp, and played with his hand, and Saul was refreshed” (1 Kings 16:23). The morning could also refer to the beginning of life after the night of sin comes to a conclusion, for the heart sings with greater gratitude in realizing it has left such a night: “Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much” (Luke 7:47); “When the Lord brought back the captivity of Sion, we became like men comforted. Then was our mouth filled with gladness; and our tongue with joy” (Psalm 125:1-2). Leaving the life of sin for the life of love is a triumphant entry into the heavenly Jerusalem, drawing praise from the heart: “Blessed be the king who cometh in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory on high!” ( Luke 19:38). With a heart in love, the King shall hear all you have to ask of Him: “And as she held her peace, he took the golden sceptre, and laid it upon her neck, and kissed her” (Esther 15:15), that what is in the heart may be drawn out. It is of great benefit to begin the day with prayer, that you may see the merciful love of God, standing before Love Incarnate and considering how He loved, and realize that He does not will what is contrary to love, for it is outside His nature to do anything less dignified than perfect love. Or “to stand” means that you are so inflamed with love that you cannot lay down and idly wait, but with zeal and love be ardent to come before Him. Ah, the Sweet Hunter draws you with love’s urgent longings, seeming to evade your sight, but desiring to bring you ever deeper into love. This seeming evasiveness is seen in the divine Canticle: “The voice of my beloved, behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills” (Song 2:8). He never wills anything else than love; to follow His will is to love at all times. Therefore, the King of Kings draws your heart out of itself with love, turning His ear to you that He may hear what you wish to sing to Him, particularly when you begin with praise, saying that He is a God of love, never willing what is contrary to merciful love.