Did you ever notice that God created some people as early risers and some people who stay up all night? Yes, I said that God created them this way. We do not all have to spend quality time with the Lord in the morning. He programs our bodily clocks differently, so that we keep Him company every hour of the day and night. There are even special “watches” during the night and early morning (Mark 6:48; Exodus 14:24; Judges 7:19; 1 Samuel 11:11).
The Bible tells us in Mark
13:35 that:
The First, Evening Watch is
Sunset To 9 P.M. (Lamentations 2:19)The Second, Midnight Watch is 9 P.M. To Midnight (Judges 7:19)
The Third, Cock-Crowing Watch is Midnight To 3 A.M. (Luke 2:38)
The Fourth, Morning Watch is 3 A.M. To Sunrise (Matthew 14:25)
God loves company even in
the night watches (Psalm 119:148). I
take the second and Third Watches with the Lord every night between 9PM and
3AM. This is my perfect time to read His Word, to write a devotional about what
I learn, to pray for those God puts on my heart and to sing praises to Him as I
do my household chores. My husband enjoys the Morning Watch with the Lord and
then he researches for, prays about and internalizes his weekly sermons. My
girlfriend spends her lunch hour with the Lord. She reads her Bible and prays
instead of socializing.
One day, Jesus dismissed the
crowds that came to hear Him preach. Then, He sent the disciples across the
lake while He went up into the mountain to pray. They encountered a tempest on
their way across. Jesus did not come to help them during the initial hours of
the storm, but He waited until they had already struggled for hours in a raging
squall. In the darkest watch of the night, Jesus walked out to them on the
water (Matthew 14:22-34). Jesus
often comes to us in the darkest watch of our “night” too. When life gets too
difficult, when our heart is broken, when everything goes wrong and we despair
of all hope. This is when Jesus comes to our aid, and He is always right on
time.
The important aspect here is
that we spend time with the Lord every day, preferably all day as we pray
without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 1:2, 5:17). God gives us countless opportunities to spend time with Him throughout the day and the night.
We pour out our heart in prayer and worship in the presence of our Almighty
God. We lift up our hands to Him and praise Him for the lives of our children
and for those who are needy, homeless or distraught (Lamentations
2:19). Our eyes are open all during the
day, and even in the night watches, as we meditate on God’s precepts and
promises (Psalm 119:148).
Prayer:
Father God, You watch over
everyone who loves You (Psalm 145:20).
A thousand years in Your sight are like a day, or even as short as one watch in
the night (Psalm 90:4). You will never
allow us to stumble as long as we depend upon You. You watch over us endlessly,
because You never sleep or even take a nap (Psalm 121:3-5). When I wake up with a song filtering through my mind
or a prayer on my heart, I know my spirit has been remembering You and thinking
of You even as I sleep (Psalm 63:6).
Thought for the Day:
As
long as it is day, we must do the Lord’s work, because the dark night is coming
when no one will be able to hear His Truth.
– John 9:4