In the Middle of the Night
Before dawn’s
light
I will hope in your word.
In the middle of the night
My thoughts are on you, Lord.
You answer me whenever
I call with all my heart.
Your statutes last forever:
From your word, I won’t depart.
“When I’m worried, and I can’t sleep, I count my blessings
instead of sheep. Then I go to sleep counting my blessings,” croons Bing Crosby
in the movie White Christmas. “Instead of counting sheep, talk to the
Shepherd,” is a saying someone gave to my mother. If your eyes are open
“through the watches of the night”, perhaps it would be a good time to pray and
meditate on what God promises as well as thank him for what he has already done
for you.
I often wake up in
the middle of the night. In fact, I
rarely sleep all the way through a night.
Sometimes when I awaken at 2:00 a.m., a person may come to mind. I take that as the Holy Spirit nudging me to
pray for that person. I pray for specific
needs they have, thank God for my relationship with them, and pray that the
Lord will always draw them closer to himself.
Other times, I just
can’t go back to sleep even though no specific friend or family member comes to
mind. That is a good time to count
blessings and pray for loved ones. A
Bible on the shelf by the bed makes it easy to use the time to read
scripture. Memory verse cards in the
drawer of the nightstand give ready access to God’s promises.
If I fall asleep while reading, meditating,
or praying, I don’t consider that rude.
I have other times of day that I alertly study God’s word and pray. I believe God uses his word, his promises,
and the assurance that my prayer is heard to calm my mind and let me rest. Often when I fall asleep with my thoughts
turned to God, I awake with him already on my mind.
So the next time you wake in the middle
of the night, try praying and meditating on God’s word until you are ready to
go back to sleep. Keep your Bible or memory verses handy for those times. You may even want to keep a prayer journal
next to the bed to jot down the name you were called to pray for and the date.
Don’t be surprised if you later find out that was a significant time in the
person’s life. God is able to use even
your sleeplessness to draw you nearer to him and to bless others.
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