The fight between sleep and prayer

The Sleep of the Disciples - Alexandre Bida

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 13-14; Psalm 101

TO CHEW ON: "And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, 'Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation' … And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him." Mark 14: 37,38,40

No doubt the disciples' sleep was a legitimate physical response to physical fatigue. Yet one gets the sense that there is also a spiritual component to their napping here, while a few feet away, Jesus agonizes in prayer.

Several thoughts...

On prayer:
1. Jesus, the very Son of God, who had unprecedented access to the Father, still desired the disciples' prayer company and support. " 'Could you not watch one hour?' "  Mark reports Jesus saying (Mark 14:37). Matthew adds " 'Could you not watch with me one hour?' " (Matthew 26:40).

2. Jesus' desire for them to be praying was also for their benefit: " 'Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak' " Mark 14:38.

On sleep:
1. The persistence of the disciples' sleep, even after Jesus' warning, alerts us to the fact this may have been more than mere fatigue. They were seemingly embarrassed and perhaps even puzzled by their inability to stay awake: " … they did not know what to answer Him" - Mark 14:39.

2. Luke's account says: "He found them sleeping from sorrow" - Luke 22:45. This suggests their sleep may also have been a form of escapism.

Some insights for our lives as modern disciples from this part of the passion story:
- Prayer: 

• It aids us even as it supports others.

- Sleep:

• We do need a healthy amount to function. But could an inordinate sleepiness at times when we set out to pray be an aspect of spiritual warfare?

• When we're overwhelmed by life situations, maybe we should more often escape into prayer than sleep!

• Could our inability to stay awake during prayer be a symptom of a dull spiritual state? Perhaps spiritual things just don't seem real enough; prayer doesn't seem important enough to keep us alert and awake. The Bible uses sleep as a metaphor to illustrate spiritual dullness and oblivion:

"… now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed" - Romans 13:11.

"Therefore let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober" - 1 Thessalonians 5:6.

See also Mark 13:35,36  |  Romans 11:8  |  Ephesians 5:14.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I confess I have often slept when I should be praying. Please help me to understand what's at stake in maintaining times of prayer. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 101

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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.

Insomnia

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Proverbs 19-21; Psalm 4


TO CHEW ON: "I will both lie down in peace and sleep;
For You alone, O LORD, Make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

Are you ever troubled with insomnia? I certainly am. I think perhaps David was too. For in this psalm he reminds himself (and us, the readers/listeners) that he should be able to sleep:

"Meditate within your heart on your bed and be still ...
I will both lie down in peace and sleep ..."

The Bible speaks of peaceful sleep coming as a result of:

• Doing a hard day's physical work - Ecclesiastes 5:12.

• Entrusting the final outcome of our work to God - Psalm 127:2

• Trusting God for general well-being and protection - Psalm 3:5; Proverbs 3:24 and our focus verse,Psalm 4:8.

• Trusting God in even extreme circumstances, like Jesus did in the storm-tossed boat (Mark 4:38) and Peter did in prison (Acts 12:6).

I would submit that often 'trust' is the secret to our ability to sleep well:

"... put your trust in the Lord ... For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."


PRAYER: Dear God, it is so easy to take the responsibility for my life on my shoulders and with it a load of fear and anxiety that keep me awake. Help me to trust You to the extent that I can relax in sleep. Amen.


PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 4

MORE: Insomniac prayers

One thing many of us do at night when we can't sleep is pray. (David mentions communication with God four times in this short psalm.)

I love how Donna Farley writes of nighttime prayers in her poem "The Geography of Prayer." Here is a sampling:


THE GEOGRAPHY OF PRAYER

my midnight wakeful prayers
the gift of insomnia
I hold a globe cradled in my hands
and the wave of prayer begins:

a slingshot drawn back to the west coast
then as if the daylight terminator reversed itself
sweeping eastward with mercy, healing,
over the homes of people I know
and people I don't...

....

But I can't be the only one who lies
awake nights like this.
Like lines of magnetic force
caressing the world I imagine prayers
emanating from the faithful
wrapping the world up like string
wound around the core of a baseball....

© 1999 by Donna Farley (Used with permission)
Read the entire peom here.

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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.

Awaken the Dawn

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Deuteronomy 13,14; Psalm 57

TO CHEW ON: “Awake my glory!
Awake lute and harp!
I will awaken the dawn.” Psalm 57:8


An introductory line in my Bible identifies the occasion for the writing of this psalm: “A Michtam of David when he fled from Saul into the cave.”

I imagine David beginning to write this psalm in the evening. He’s bone-weary, discouraged, feeling surrounded and overwhelmed by the forces coming against him, and very scared:

“My soul is among lions;
I lie among the sons of men
Who are set on fire,
Whose teeth are spears and arrows,
And their tongue a  sharp sword…
They have prepared a net for my feet…
They have dug a pit before me” - Psalm 57: 4,6.

Then, at verse 7 the feeling changes:

“My heart is steadfast O God…
I will sing and give praise.”

Here’s my guess about why the change: I imagine David resuming the writing of the psalm in the morning, after a night of sleep. He’s made it through the night. The sun will soon rise on another day and he shifts his perspective from his troubles to God.

Since he’s hiding from Saul in a cave, you’d expect he’d be extra careful that no noises echoed through the cave’s chambers and to the outside. But no. He wants his praise to be so loud it will “awaken the dawn.”

There are several lessons for me—for us—in this passage.

1. It’s a good idea to sleep on our problems.
For example, it’s a good plan to  leave making difficult decisions to when we’re rested and have gained perspective by giving the situation a little time and distance and we’re in better physical shape.

2. Praise changes the atmosphere.
From Psalm 57:7 on, when David shifts his focus from his problems to God, there’s not another hint of gloom. It’s all about God’s greatness, attributes and abilities.

3. It’s a good thing to express praise aloud.
David’s praise is loud. It’s expressed with musical instruments and voice, into the open air and to people (Psalm 57:8, 9). I know I tend to praise silently, mentally. I need to do more praising aloud, with my voice, maybe even visit the piano or get out the keyboard.


PRAYER: Dear Father, it’s easy to let problems overwhelm me. Help me to make a habit of meeting with You each morning and to begin the day with intentional focus on and praise to You. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 57

The Bible Project VIDEO: LEV: Heart (Shema word study series)



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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.

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