Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer: differences

Morning and Evening Prayers Are Different for Me

I have two scheduled times of prayer in the day: in the morning, right after breakfast or sometimes even before I get out of bed, and in the evening, after supper. In other words, the first and last (or nearly so) thing of the day. But these two prayer times are different in tone and emphasis, just as their two times of the day are different. The morning time is largely petitionary, asking God for things--not that there aren't other aspects as well, such as praise and thanksgiving, but it is largely a time when I lay out my requests to God.

The evening prayer time, however, has few requests. It is devoted mainly to meditation on God and worshipping him. It is a time when the Holy Spirit expands my vision of God and reality. It is not as structured or specific as the early morning prayers. This allows the Spirit more freedom to go wherever he wants to in my spirit, like the wind in the skies, and accompish his marvelous workings there.

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit" (Jn. 3:8).

This is the way I do it. It does not mean that it is the only way it should be done or the even the best way; it is just my way and the way the Spirit has led me to spend my time in prayer.

But sometimes I would wonder if it really was just my own way of doing things and if it really was the best way for me to pray, that is, mainly petitions in the morning and reflections in the evening. Then the Spirit graciously directed me to two verses in Scripture that gave me peace in the matter and assurance. One Scripture is Psalm 5:3 and the other is Psalm 63:6.

Psalm 5:3 says, "In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."

Psalm 63:6: "On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night."

So there you have it. Apparently (and not surprisingly), I am not the first child of God to arrange his prayers in this manner. Both of these psalms are by David. Apparently he also made his requests to God in the morning and reserved the evening for reflection. This makes sense, actually. For when we arise in the morning, a new day also arises, challenging us to meet its demands in God. We need his help to make it through the day. But when that day is over, even if all those challenges were not resolved, we should not carry them with us to bed. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof (Mt. 6:34). The night is meant to be a time of rest and renewal, not a continuation of the day's battle. And where does the child of God find that renewal? In his God. So the nighttime is the time to reflect on God, to rest and let his Spirit renew our spirit and soul, even as the physical rest renews the body.

When we put aside the unfinished business of the day and not let it disturb us or our peace as we lay down to rest at night, we are performing an act of faith, trusting our God to give us another day to finish the work he has given us to do but which has remained uncompleted this day, or else we trust him to bring it to completion himself or through other means altogether than through us--whatever the case may be, we withdraw ourselves from all activity of the day and enter into his rest. In so doing, we are a witness to the surety of God's Word that there remains a rest for his people in heaven, when all activity of ours and everyone else is done forever in this world:

"There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his" (Heb. 4:9,10).

We witness to this eternal truth of the Word of God every day, or rather every night, as we perform the simple, everyday act of just going to bed and resting in peace, trusting God to work all things together for good to them that love him. This is a silent witness to the world and to the invisible, spiritual world that is watching our daily activities--and non-activity. Yes, a silent witness that is seen, not heard, just as the stars in the sky are silent in their own witness to this same God--a witness that says that there is a Creator and God who governs all their actions and their march across the dark sky.

"The heavens declare the glory of God . . . Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge" (Ps. 10:1,2).

Notice the difference between the two types of witness. In the daytime, the fiery sun and bright light enable all the busy and noisy activity of men and animals to proclaim that there is a God who gives life to all things. But at night, a different type of proclaiming comes forth, a quieter means of making God and his wisdom known. In the day, words "pour forth speech," implying a busy activity and words that can be heard. But at night, this same knowledge is not shouted out but simply displayed: The stars silently moving across the sky in majestic procession, silently displaying this same glory of God that the day more loudly proclaims. But both have the same purpose, to give glory to God and knowledge to men of this glory. Neither is more important than the other; both are needed for the whole message of God to blossom in its fullness in the heart of man.

So it is fitting to end the communication of this truth with the words of yet another psalm of David:

"May the words of my mouth (in my requests of the morning prayer) and the meditation of my heart (in my evening prayer meditations) be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer" (Ps. 19:14).