Last night I woke a little after one in the morning. I felt restless, my eyes wide open. I sensed a nudge and a voice saying, pray. As I did, my husband tossed and turned next to me. A few minutes later he rose with his pillow in hand, walking out of our bedroom. I went to him and he told me he did not know why but he was unable to sleep. He planned to rest on the couch as not to disturb me.
I had trouble sleeping the night before. My alarm going off at 3:30am set by the curious hands of a six year old boy at play. Then at 4:15am the battery to our fire alarm went out, causing an annoying beep (pause) beep again and again. I grabbed a chair and flash light and with sleepy, wobbly legs I climbed up and took the battery out. The madness ceased but restful sleep did not come soon enough. Later in the day, I half joked with my husband that God was trying to get my attention. That I should have woke to pray after the second random disturbance in less than an hour.
Last night I decided not ignore His nudging. I was certain that He woke both myself and my husband to pray. Bulgaria and Ukraine came to the forefront of our thoughts. We were reminded that it was mid day in Eastern Europe and we felt there was an urgent need to lift up in prayer. We knew no specifics only that we needed to respond to this burden placed on our hearts.
We prayed for our adoptive child or children, wherever they were. We gave Him all our hopes and fears. We prayed for our missionary friends in Ukraine and their five small children with another soon on the way. For provisions for their family and peace from the unrest in their homeland.
I was reminded last night that God does not need our prayers. He is sovereign and all knowing . Even so, He invites us to be part of something that is, “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine”. (Ephesians 3:20 NIV)
By entering into prayer and obeying the urging of His Spirit we get to be an active participant in the minute by minute miracles that are happening in our life and the lives around us.
The biggest miracle being the transformation of our own hearts as we surrender our perceived power to His ultimate power, purpose and plan. With this, He promises His peace,”which transcends all understanding”.
After my husband and I had finished laying down all the burdens on our hearts,
peace came and restful sleep followed.
“Do not be anxious about anything,
but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 4:6, 7 NIV)
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I’ve heard so many stories in the past about God prompting people to pray and later on found out that a friend or loved one was needing prayer at just that time.
I normally sleep like a rock so if I have a time of tossing and turning in the night, I’m pretty sure it is God asking me to pray.
Isn’t it neat that we can pray not even knowing the situation?
Thank you so much for this post. I too experience restless nights.I’m going to view them differently and respond differently from now on! I may even look forward to them as I discover God’s purpose in them. God bless you both in the coming months with the transitions in your life. I will miss what has been a great friendship with Robert here at work. His new employer is about to discover that he has received a great gift, in more ways than he may initially realize! So glad I can keep up with you through Magnolia Heart.
This really spoke to my heart and as someone who has always had trouble sleeping well, I plan to look at those nights from a different perspective from now on. 🙂