Awake at Night

• 2 min. read • grade level: 7

Have you ever had trouble sleeping? Perhaps you are worried about problems in your life and in your family and you cannot get to sleep; perhaps you have trouble falling back asleep after you wake up in the middle of the night. Maybe you are too tired to sleep — that does happen! You think of all the things that need to be done the next day and you stress out. You might even feel like Asaph when he said, “Thou holdest open mine eyelids” (Psalm 77:4⁴Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. (Psalm 77:4)). King Ahasuerus had trouble sleeping, and there was a reason — God wanted him to be thinking about Mordecai, and He brought blessing through Ahasuerus’ wakefulness. In Lamentations 2:19¹⁹Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street. (Lamentations 2:19) we are told: “Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward Him for the life of thy young children.” We can use that quiet time to intercede for our children, our husbands, our friends, our neighbors, ourselves. “God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you” (1 Sam. 12:23)!

Wakefulness at night does not need to be wasted time. The Lord Jesus is always awake to hear our prayers. It may be hard to find enough time in our busy lives to talk to our friends — including the Lord — as much as we want to, and God sometimes gives us opportunities at night to catch up on talking to Him. “With my soul have I desired thee in the night” (Isa. 26:9⁹With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. (Isaiah 26:9)). Asaph (the one who had trouble sleeping in Psa. 77) ended up musing on God’s doings and then talking to God about His great wonders (vss. 12-14). The Lord Jesus is listening to you, and He cares about your problems. Ponder His greatness and love, and cast “all your care upon Him; for He careth for you” (1 Pet. 5:7). When you are done casting all your cares on Him, you may well find that “He giveth His beloved sleep” (Psa. 127:2²It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. (Psalm 127:2)).