When God Wakes You Up

Psalm 119:62 - "At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws."

Not long ago I was talking with someone who told me that they never understood the passage in Scripture where we are instructed to pray without ceasing. No one can actually do that. The person talked about how his understanding of this passage was that we were to be in a continual attitude of prayer. When we go throughout our days, we are to have conversations with God. When we have decisions to make, God is to be the first one that we go to. When we face temptation throughout the day, we are to run to God.

Then he told me, "Brian, I had the most incredible experience last night. I went to bed praying to the Lord. I fell asleep. When I woke up, I found that I was still praying."

For my friend, this was a very special spiritual experience. I'm not quite sure that this is what God meant when He instructed us to pray without ceasing. And, I'm not sure my friend truly prayed all night long. I questioned him about it and he didn't think that he had. He was just in awe over his God that day. He was grateful that he went to sleep with praise on his heart and awoke the same way. And, I think that's what was probably happening to David when he wrote this verse. He had so much to be grateful for, that he felt the need to wake up in the middle of the night and praise God for His righteous laws.

What about you? What has God blessed you with? It's probably more than you really stop to thank Him for. Unless you are a person who can pray 24/7 without stopping, you probably can't possibly run out of things to be grateful to God for. He has blessed us in more ways than we can count. Does that mean that our lives look perfect? Far from it! Life is hard. We will not even begin to experience life like God intended it to be until we reach heaven. But, this side of heaven gives us plenty to be grateful for. May we, like David, praise God for all that He is, all that He has done for us, and all that He promises to do.

Dear God,

Forgive us for the times that we complain. We have so many things that you have blessed us with. It's not that we deserve it. You have given us more than any of us deserve. Thank you for your mercy and grace and love. Thank you for your patience. Thank you that you love us like you do.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.