Friday, January 22, 2021
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Heth
At midnight I rise to praise you . . . The earth, Lord, is filled with your love . . .
We modern humans tend to believe that wakefulness during the night is a habit we do not want to foster, but our ancestors did not look for a marathon of sleep from bedtime to early morning rising. They would sleep twice in a twelve hour range, rising for a time in the middle of the night before returning to bed for a second period of sleep before morning.
When we find ourselves awake at night for any reason, we might remember our ancestors and turn to scripture and prayer rather than curse our restlessness.
God says: You may call to me at any hour on any day for I am always with you. I rest but I do not sleep. You may sing with me at any hour on any day. I love to hear your voice resonate with mine. You may pray with me at any hour on any day. I am always holding you in my hands and heart.
Rather than curse the darkness of the midnight hour, let us turn to God in prayer. We may find our restlessness melts away and the blessed sleep returns.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them (Acts 16:25).
I waited, waited for the Lord; who bent down and heard my cry, drew me out of the pit of destruction . . . and put a new song in my mouth . . . (Psalm 40:1-4)
Tomorrow, the letter Teth.
For interesting insight into sleep customs old and modern, go to: http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2013/08/26/rising-at-midnight-sleep-patterns-and-daily-prayer/
For more information about Midnight Prayer, see the Liturgy of the Hours page on this blog.
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