Midnight prayer
by: Kelly Ballery
Bible reading: “I am a vine. You are a branch. If you remain in me and me, you will have many fruits. Apart from me, you cannot do anything.” – John 15:5 (NIV)
Read or listen to the following:
Almost every hour of the night, I woke up. In my mind, a million small, troubled thoughts like pinballs have invaded my sacred sleep time. They demanded caution that the anti-mination wheels must continue to turn.
Have you ever experienced this?
Have you ever felt that an urgent world problem hit you at an unexpected time in the night?
When we woke up the night, I learned, I learned, I learned, I learned. Of course, the last thing we might want to do is to speak out loud and interrupt the discreet, coherent mind of speech, but if so, it can be powerful.
Jesus said, “I am a vine, and you are a branch. If you remain in me and me, you will have many fruits. Apart from me, you cannot do anything” (John 15:5 niv).
Apart from Jesus, we can’t do anything.
Apart from Jesus, I have barely been able to return to sleep and have learned more than I can solve all my problems in the middle of the night. Only he can do it. Only he would do that. Only he can do it.
On nights like this, I call out to Jesus and say, “Jesus, let me fall asleep again.” Sometimes I experience what is called God’s AB-C. I recite the name of God that corresponds to each alphabetical letter.
But I do this only after I pray the following prayer:
“Father, if I save me, I will be saved!”
“Father, heal me, and I will be healed.”
“Father, I will redeem me, I will be red.”
“I will save you, so please save me.”
If you are unsettling deep in the night, let out the cry of your soul! When that cry goes away, I assure you, God hears. God is paying attention when everyone else is asleep! When you only have whispers, listen to God.
The dark night of the soul can be absolutely illuminated by the light of the world, as we come humbly, breathe restless prayers.
Perhaps God will not awaken us and call us to call us in deep, intimate prayer rather than putting the weight of the world on us. I meet him there. Meet him with the weight of your world, meet him with your day’s problems, meet him with the guilt you feel, meet him with the dreams of your heart, meet him with the cry for your family. See him, he will see you.
Even in the middle of the night, I’ll stay with him.
Let’s pray:
Father, I want to find you in search of you. Give them the strength to pray when you are tired, tired or worried. Give me more faith, trust me and lean on you in all my ways. Can I call you and know that you will hear my prayers? Will I stay with you? Thank you, dad. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Photo credit: ©getTyimages/viacheslav peretitko
Kelly supports his followers and raises his faith. Get Kelly blog posts via email and are encouraged every week. A cheerleader of Faith, Kelly is a blogger and national speaker and author of Take Every Thought Captive, Rest Now, Battle Ready, and Fear Fighting. Kelly loves to see the power of prayer acting. She loves to see expressions on women’s faces when they notice. Their God is faithful! Kelly’s work is featured in Today Show, CBN’s 700 Club, Relevance, and Christian Women Today.
Listen to your evening prayer podcast
We are proud to announce that we have launched a new nighttime companion for your daily prayer: Your Night Prayer Prayer. You can find it on the website Crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. Here you can sign up to receive in your inbox every night. I hope it is a relaxed and soothing way to defeat your day with a rich meditation on God. Check out the following episodes:
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