Bible Strands
Psalms 55:17
Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist, hemmed in by enemies (vv. 16, 18), addresses the LORD directly, asserting that his appeals span the entire day and are met with hearing.
The words — The Hebrew verbs are אָשִׂ֣יחָה ('a.si.chah, "I will complain") and וְאֶהֱמֶ֑ה (ve.'e.he.Meh, "and I may murmur"), not the elevated "cry out in distress" of the BSB; the psalmist names his own low, grumbling register and claims God still hears it.
The thread — The "all times" motif recurs in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (pray without ceasing) and Ephesians 6:18 (pray at all times); Psalms 141:2 links continuous prayer to the daily temple offerings.
Why it lands — The verse removes the requirement that prayer sound dignified or sustained; a reader may bring complaint and murmur to God and expect to be heard.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
Cross-references
- Ephesians 6:18 Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
- Psalms 141:2 May my prayer be set before You like incense; my uplifted hands, like the evening offering.
- Acts 3:1 One afternoon Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
- Hebrews 5:7 During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.
- Psalms 119:147 I rise before dawn and cry for help; in Your word I have put my hope.
- Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
- Mark 1:35 Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and went out to a solitary place to pray.
- Acts 10:9 The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray.
- Psalms 92:2 to proclaim Your loving devotion in the morning and Your faithfulness at night