Normally, I sleep very well. However, this time of year I am plagued by allergies and I have to take more meds to keep my head clear overnight. Still, my ears have been bothering me in the last week or so and I have been staying up a little later than usual, giving Janet time to get to sleep.
Even with these additional measures, I haven’t been sleeping as peacefully as I usually do. Several mornings in a row now, in spite of staying up a little later at night, I have woken up at 5:16 a.m. I don’t know that there is anything particularly important about that exact time, but it has been that way several times in the last week.
And it’s not like I fall back to sleep. I’m awake. I can’t even say wide awake – but not able to sleep, nonetheless. It’s kind of like half awake – aware that I’m not able to sleep but not inclined to get up and get the day started. I know enough about myself that this means I am supposed to be attentive to God – there must be something that He wants to tell me.
In the Old Testament times, there were three watches each night. The first watch was generally from sunset until 10:00 pm. Then, the middle watch was from 10:00 pm to 2:00 am and the morning watch from 2:00 am until sunrise. This worked great back then, but with the advent of the supremacy of the Roman empire, the New Testament lists four watches of the night, making it possible for people to take a shorter shift.
Those watches commenced with the evening watch from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 pm. It was followed by the midnight watch that ended at 12:00 a.m., the cock-crowing watch that ended at 3:00 a.m. and, finally, the sunrise watch that ended at 6:00 a.m. The Roman watches allowed the sentries three hour shifts, instead of four hours, and provided twelve hours of protection from possible invaders along the perimeter of the compounds.
I have said before that we serve a patient God. In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, God will wait for our undivided attention before nudging us into communion with Him. And many times, it is the quiet awakening in the middle of the night, or during the sunrise watch, that I will most likely receive a visit from the Holy Spirit communicating some important thing that I am supposed to know. And it usually happens when I am least likely to be distracted by something else.
Recently, there have been a number of health issues that I have been made aware of with others. Nothing wrong with me, at least that I know of, but people around me are fighting health battles and they need prayer support. Heart murmurs, Covid concerns, auto immune disorders and a host of other health issues have plagued our circle of family and friends since July. Even our dog, Hank, has been diagnosed with a heart murmur and must undergo cardiac evaluation as his breed is very susceptible to disorders of this type.
So the past several days I have found myself awake in a posture of prayer at 5:16 a.m. each morning. And it’s not one of those short prayers. No, I have found myself going through a list of each of our family members and friends, noting something that I can pray about for each of the ones that God puts on my heart.
Whether it is for safe travels and wisdom as our grandchildren go back to college after Fall break or for God to bless the hands of the doctors who are running tests/doing procedures, or taking a posture of grateful appreciation for the relationships that I have, all these things have been crossing my mind each morning during prayer. By the way, it’s not like I am used to long periods of prayer.
In fact, I am more of an “arrow prayer” sort of guy. You know, a short phrase or plea to God that gets shot up to heaven. Some folks refer to them as “breath prayers.” But lately, those just aren’t cutting it. I still do them, but this added dimension to my prayer life has been something that I just go with. It is satisfying and quiet, in the solitude of the early morning and the knowledge that I am truly one on one with the Creator of the cosmos.
Our verse for tonight comes from one of my favorite psalms. King David was on the run from his son, Absalom, who was intent on killing David to ascend the throne himself. Of course, David didn’t want to engage his own son in a battle to the death so he hid and during this time, reflected on how he missed his communion with God.
In fact, David feels separated from God and as the psalm unfolds, David finds himself remembering his closeness with the Father. He tells us, in Psalm 63:6-8, “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”
David gets stronger in every verse of Psalm 63 and tonight’s verses are some of my favorite passages in the entire Bible. My encouragement this evening is that many times God waits for our undivided attention to commune with us. My prayer is that we will not miss the blessings of being nudged to prayer by the Holy Spirit. It truly is an awesome experience. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…