Light in the darkness

THE HOURS OF THE NIGHT The‘wee sma hours’of the night can be a terrible time.

We waken and cannot get back to sleep.

Our minds work overtime and that just makes things worse.

The troubles from yesterday, or the ones waiting for us tomorrow seem darker and even less intractable during the night.

It’s a very lonely time during these hours of the night.

It is even darker if you live alone.

A PRAYER FROM THE NIGHT I, too, often lie awake during these night hours.

I wrote this little prayer:“Dear Father God, gentle Father, tonight a baby will be born and a family will rejoice. To-night a loved one will sleep away to waken in the dawning light of eternity. A family will grieve their loss. Tonight a surgeon will carry out emergency surgery to save a life. Tonight nurses will care for their sleeping patients, a mother will watch over her child, police officers will patrol our communities, and fire officers will be on duty. Gentle God, watch over your people during the long watches of the night.”

The psalmist prayed: ‘If the darkness covers me, even the darkness is not dark to thee, the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with thee’” (Psalm 139. 11-12).

This is my night prayer, I hope it helps you.

THE STRUGGLE But, sometimes, there are very good reasons why sleep has fled our pillow.

A genuine sea change experience for you and your family.

We simply have to think things through. Sometimes we do that at night.

Mighty things happened to great people in the Bible during the night.

Jacob, the patriarch of the Jewish people, had a chequered career. Especially in his relationship with his older brother, Esau, whom he had cheated out of his birth right.

But on the next day the two brothers were set to meet. Jacob was camped at the ford of the river Jabbok. He dispatched everyone across the river.

Then, we read:“Jacob was left alone and the man of God wrestled with him until the day” (Genesis 32.24).

“The man of God wrestled with Jacob.”

In that era, people did not think in psychological terms.

We would say that Jacob had to think things through.

He had to struggle with the personal issues he faced in his God-given life.

At day break, he was given a new name‘Israel’, which means ‘the man who struggled with God’(Genesis 32.28).

But, sometimes, these great issues of life leave their mark on us.

After the operation, we are not so strong, the change of employment has meant a reduced lifestyle. That happened to Jacob. We read that the man of God touched Jacob’s thigh and Jacob left the place limping (Genesis 32.31).

Sometimes, the experiences of life leave us permanently wounded.

LONELY HOURS But a greater force than Jacob once knew the loneliness of the “wee sma hours”.

Dusk was settling and the disciples urged Jesus to send the people home.

Instead, Jesus provided for them. (Matthew 14. 13-21).

Then Jesus dispatched the disciples to prepare for the following day while he blessed the people.

Then we read:“After he had dismissed the crowds, Jesus went up into the hills by himself to pray”(Matthew 14.23).

We can be sure these were not gentle evening prayers with a serene“Well, good night God, I’ll see you in the morning”ending.

Jesus’prayers burst from that great soul as he passionately prayed for these people.

He prayed for their sickness, their welfare, praying that the light of the kingdom would begin to shine in their hearts.

We know that these prayers lasted for hours. For Luke tells us: “Jesus went into the hills to pray, and he continued all night in prayer”(Luke 6.12).

So, when we lie awake in these dark hours, remember Jesus knows how you feel. He has been there.

GOD’S GUIDANCE One final thought about Jacob.

He called the river by another name.

He called the river Peniel, which literally means‘The face of God’.

Because he said:“I have seen God face to face and I still live” (Genesis 32.30).

God was with Jacob that night. As you lie awake with an anxious soul, God is with you during these “wee sma hours”.