TO CHEW ON: "I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons." Psalm 16:7
What do you do when you can't sleep at night? Fret? Toss and turn? Count sheep? Take a pill?
Night wakefulness is referred to quite a few times in the Bible.
- For Job's friend Elihu it was a time of hearing God's songs (Job 35:10).
- For the psalmist Korah it was also a time of lingering songs as well as prayer (Psalm 42:8).
- For Psalm-writer Asaph night songs evoked meditation and spirit searching (Psalm 77:6).
- When Israel faced the Assyrians, Isaiah prophesied, not nighttime thoughts of dread and foreboding but "a song as in the night when a holy festival is kept" (Isaiah 30:29).
- Who can forget Paul and Silas, locked in stocks in a jail in Philippi, praying and singing hymns at midnight? We remember the miraculous jail break that followed (Acts 16:25, 26)!
- And in our psalm today, David testifies of God instructing him in the night seasons.
So next time we're troubled by insomnia, perhaps we should pause our fretting, turn our attention to God, and ask:
~ Do you have a song for me?
~ What Bible verses could I meditate on?
~ Who or what situation needs prayer?
~ Is there a battle somewhere that could be impacted by my praise and prayer?
PRAYER: Dear God, You know I don't usually think of sleeplessness as a good thing. Please help me to remember that it can be a time of prayer, song, counsel, meditation and spiritual warfare. Amen.
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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
