Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
God never wastes one moment of our lives and since we spend approximately 1/3 of our lives sleeping, He wants us to know our nights are important to Him. He wants to redeem our nights for our benefit and His glory.
The nighttime is really the first fruit of the day, as each new day does not begin at sunrise, but in darkness. If the first fruit is holy then the rest of the day is holy (Rom. 11:16). The enemy knows this and has used our nighttime as a cover for evil. If the enemy can hijack your night then your day is going to be tougher. But God desires to break every claim the enemy has to our night.
A few years ago we suffered a tragic violence in our church and the enemy released a strong spirit of fear that stalked us at night (Psalm 91:5-6). Many of us had to contend, “to lie down and sleep in peace, because only the Lord makes us dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8 & Proverbs 3:23-26). It was during that time that I took a greater interest in the importance of the night season.
King David understood the high value of the night season. He wrote in Psalm 16:7, “I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons.” David understood that the Lord desires to visit us and counsel us as we sleep because our subconscious mind and spirit are not hindered by all the thoughts, emotions and anxiety in our conscious mind.
Usually my last prayer before I go to sleep is to invite the Lord to visit me with His presence as I sleep. I ask Him to counsel and instruct me as I sleep, to keep Becky and I safe, allow us to sleep well and awake refreshed. Sometimes, God will wake me later in the night to interact with Him (Psalm 119:55,147-148), or to pour my heart out to Him (Lam. 2:19). God often speaks to me in dreams (Job. 33:15). Occasionally, I have angelic visits during the night (Acts 27:23).
Sometimes I sleep through the night and am not conscious of anything, but I know He has loved on me all night (Psalm 127:2, 3:5). Many times I awake in the morning with a song in my heart. It may be a worship song, hymn or a secular song; regardless, I know the angels have been sent to sing the Father’s song and speak to my heart (Psalm 42:8, 77:6).
There are times when the enemy trespasses into my night (1 Peter 5:8). Worry, fear and toxic thoughts harass me. When that happens I focus on the blood of Christ and appropriate it over my mind, heart and emotions. It is a contest, but the enemy cannot stand up to the blood of Christ. That is a practical way to draw near to God and resist the devil (James 4:7-8).
When I awake in the morning I do not immediately roll out of bed. I take a few moments to gather my thoughts and think over what I am feeling. Did anything happen during the night, a dream, song in my heart, word from God, scripture, an idea, a solution to a problem, etc.? Remember, Solomon received his great wisdom in a dream (1 Kings 3:5-15)! That has helped me to catch a lot more of the gems God truly gives His children as we sleep.
Many Blessings, BW