145 I call with all my heart; answer me, Lord,
    and I will obey your decrees.
146 I call out to you; save me
    and I will keep your statutes.
147 I rise before dawn and cry for help;
    I have put my hope in your word.
148 My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
    that I may meditate on your promises.
149 Hear my voice in accordance with your love;
    preserve my life, Lord, according to your laws.
150 Those who devise wicked schemes are near,
    but they are far from your law.
151 Yet you are near, Lord,
    and all your commands are true.
152 Long ago I learned from your statutes
    that you established them to last forever.

There is a spiritual intensity about this section of Psalm 119.

It’s been pointed out that it corresponds to the two halves of James 4:8. Verses 145 -148 could be entitled, ”Come near to God”; while verses 149-152 could bear the title, ”and he will come near to you.”

In ‘the Ruthless elimination of hurry’ John Mark Comer wrote: ‘If you want to experience the life of Jesus, you have to adopt the lifestyle of Jesus.’ Jesus rose to pray in the early morning; what about us? Jesus sometimes prayed in the night hours; what about us? Jesus prayed earnestly; what about us? Jesus prayed in accordance with the Scriptures; what about us?

PRAYER: Lord God, please pour upon us the Spirit of prayer. Enable us to pray like Jesus.

Thought: ‘The church’s underground atheism in our time is that we will busy ourselves with almost anything except prayer.’ Tyler Staton in ‘Praying like monks, Living like fools.’