The Night Hours

      By Fern Horst

"Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me." (Psalm 63:3-8)

Some time ago I talked with someone who had lost his wife of almost 45 years to cancer. After she died, he said he experienced such awful feelings of loneliness going to bed alone. But he learned a strategy that helped him tremendously. He now goes to sleep while praying and praising the Lord. He sometimes puts on his Walkman headset and falls asleep listening to Scripture on CD.

His practice is not so different from the Psalmist's who said, "My mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches."

The night watches. The hours when things haunt us, when fears loom larger than life and hope that seems bright in the daylight seems to vanish in the darkness. I once made a rule for myself, and wrote it down so I wouldn't forget: "Don't listen to your fears in the middle of the night!"

In fact, we can counteract those fears and the loneliness that being single often brings to the night hours by talking to the One who is always with us, who has promised to never leave us, and to always take care of us. Reciting Scripture we've memorized, or listening to it also helps us to replace those fears with God's Truth.

And if we fall asleep in the middle of our prayers, praises, or meditation on Scripture, all the better! My father has often said there's no reason to feel guilty about falling asleep while praying, because there's no better way to go to sleep than while talking things over with the Lord. It's a testimony to the peace that He gives us when we turn our concerns over to Him, and then fall asleep resting in His care.

"Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." (Psalm 73:23-26)

© 2004 Fern Horst

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