It happens to almost every father I walk with.
You're dead asleep, and suddenly your eyes snap open. The clock reads 3:11 a.m. You aren't sick, the house is quiet, and your family is fast asleep. But you are wide awake, and your mind starts racing. Worry takes over. You find yourself reckoning with the bills, replaying a tense conversation with your teenager, or staring down tomorrow's schedule.
Often there are ordinary explanations: stress, a late meal, or the sleep changes that come with midlife. If this happens constantly, talk with your doctor. Scripture treats sleep as a gift from God (Psalm 127:2), and caring for your body is part of good stewardship.
But Scripture also gives us another way to look at some of those wakeful hours. I can't tell you every sleepless night is a message from God. I can tell you that He has often met His people in the night, and that we can ask Him whether this is one of those times.
The Watches of the Night
In biblical times, the night was divided into watches. The Old Testament speaks of three (Judges 7:19; Exodus 14:24). By New Testament times, the Roman system of four watches was in use (Mark 13:35). The fourth watch ran roughly from 3:00 a.m. to dawn.
God's people met Him in the night again and again:
Deliverance at the Morning Watch. When Israel was trapped at the sea, Exodus 14:24 says, "During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion" (NIV).
Christ at the Fourth Watch. When the disciples were battered by a storm on the Sea of Galilee, Matthew 14:25 records, "Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake" (NIV).
Deliverance at Midnight. God is not bound to one hour. He struck at midnight in Egypt (Exodus 12:29), and He worked while Paul and Silas prayed and sang at midnight (Acts 16:25-26).
Jesus and the Quiet Hours. Mark 1:35 says that "very early in the morning, while it was still dark," Jesus went off to a solitary place to pray (NIV). The Gospels never name a clock time, but they show us that He sought the quiet.
Night Prayer Is Biblical
The psalmists knew wakeful nights. "On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night" (Psalm 63:6, NIV). "At midnight I rise to give you thanks" (Psalm 119:62, NIV). Prayer in the night has been part of the Christian tradition for centuries.
None of this makes every 3 a.m. awakening a divine appointment. But it does mean the night hours can become a place of prayer instead of panic.
From Worry to Watchfulness
When we wake in the night, our instinct is to feed the anxiety. Scripture gives us a better move. "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7, NIV). Nehemiah met a threat by praying and then standing guard: "We prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night" (Nehemiah 4:9, NIV).
You are the spiritual watchman over your home (Ezekiel 33:6-7). You can step out of bed, open your hands, and hand those pressures to the Lord by name. Pray for your wife and your kids. Then go back to bed in peace.
The next time your eyes snap open in the dark, don't fight it, and don't waste it on worry. Try the prayer young Samuel was taught: "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening" (1 Samuel 3:9, NIV).
Refining the Man. Forging the Legacy.™
Flat-Footed Conviction. Wholehearted Grace. Better Dads.
Ron Maxson, Jr. | The Dads Prayer Coach
