Awake O My Soul

“O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; My whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land…Your unfailing love is better than life itself, How I praise You...I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer…I lie awake thinking of you meditating on you through the night…Because you are my helper I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. “  Psalms 63

Of all the things that keep me up at night, I don’t usually think of God as being one of them.  Bills, busyness, family, and many other things have kept me awake in the middle of the night, only to fade to a more realistic focus by the light of day. The concerns of life always seem to have a magnified importance in the middle of the night.

Lately I have been considering the possibility that God himself is the source of my sleepless night. What if my sleepless night is really a call to spend time with Him-exclusively and completely focused on the Lord; searching for His heart in my awakened soul? I’ve often used a sleepless night as time to pray: for family and friends, for nagging concerns and for many other people and things. Since praying in the middle of the night usually puts me to sleep, I have to believe that those few times when I have actually gotten out of bed and pursued time with God, have been appointed by Him.  Like an invitation to coffee with a friend, comes the invitation from my Father to spend time together. 

What if my awakened soul is a divine appointment with Him, and an opportunity for me to not just put my wants and concerns before him, but a time for me to go deeper with Him? Time spent with God in the wee hours of the morning, for me, are often a more sharpened time of intimacy and closeness to my Father.  It is a midnight meeting with an opportunity for intimacy and relationship, and a never to be reclaimed moment if missed. “I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night”. 

Awaken to hear the invitation. Awake O my soul.