Songs in the Night

Ps. 77: 1-6, 11, 12
My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud;
My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness;
My soul refused to be comforted.
When I remember God, then I am disturbed;
When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. Selah.
You have held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I have considered the days of old, The years of long ago.
I will remember my song in the night;
I will meditate with my heart, And my spirit ponders:...
I shall remember the deeds of the LORD;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
I will meditate on all Your work and muse on all Your deeds.

(You really need to read the entire Psalm to see how the Psalmist draws comfort from remembering God's attribues and works!)


Ps. 63: 5,6 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.


Good conversation with dear sisters sometimes has a caffeine-like effect on my brain. Such was the case last night after coming home late from a “Ladies Night Out” evening where women of all ages met at a local café to enjoy fellowship and formally say goodbye to a sister who will be moving soon. The richness of relationships between older and younger women at our church continues to grow, and it was especially a joy talking with some of the younger women. So when I came home my mind continued to run full steam until past midnight.

Sweet Ben woke at 2:00, and it took quite a while to get him settled back to sleep in Kara’s room, where I’ve moved his crib so he can cry without disturbing anyone. (Yes, Kara, I will do my best to move him out before you come home.) By then, though, my mind was once again pumping with the “fellowship caffeine” and sleep was impossible, and I decided to head for the living room.

Once again I remembered a friend’s advice, given many years ago. (Thank you, Jill!) When you wake in the night, she said, it is for one of two reasons. It might be Satan, intent on disrupting your sleep so that you will be a grouchy, unpleasant mother the next day, in which case you ought to pray. Or, it might be the Lord prompting you to wake to pray for someone specifically, for reasons you may or may not know. In either case, prayer is what is called for.

When sleep eludes me, I ask the Lord if there is someone He wants me to pray for. Not always, but often someone is laid on my heart. Sometimes, later, I find this was an especially difficult time for that person. Occasionally I’ve had a mother on my heart and later found she was delivering at that time. Other times I never know why I was praying for a particular person. Two months ago I awoke, not just once but several times throughout the night, with the name of one person emblazoned in large capital letters on my brain, almost in neon lights. Why this person, I wondered? I don’t know, but I did pray heartily for that individual for the next 24 hours.

I think I would add a third reason for sleeplessness, namely worry, though it might be a subset of the first cause. Anxiety is certainly one thing that keeps me awake at times, but the answer again is clearly prayer.

Phil 4: 6, 7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This morning I awoke a bit groggy, doubled my prayer to be kind and patient today, and took an extra-hot shower, my answer to short rations of sleep. Still, I don’t regret the extra time I had last night with the Lord.


Ps. 42: 8 The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life.