A Very Practical God

The other morning I was deep in prayer while at work. It's physical work and wasn't anything intellectually demanding, so I was praying silently and sometimes in tongues with my lips. At one point I (silently) cried out to God, "Lord, help me to serve you better!" Straightaway He answered me. I don't think even a second passed between the call and His response. He said this. "Get to bed on time."

Wow. That could not have been me. I've been burning the candle at both ends - and burning out at the middle for so long that I don't know any other way of being. My younger brother was chiding me yesterday for not resting enough, he thinks, when I'm ill, "You do know what rest is, don't you?"

Sometimes we look so much for the spiritual sounding or feeling solution when we have not looked after the basics of our own physical or spiritual needs. Either that, or we strive so hard to serve the Lord and His people that we miss the mark by not following our Maker's instructions. The only replacement for sleep that I know of is prayer and sometimes we are called to that. Great men like John Hyde, missionary to India as well as unknown people are often called to this, but even then it can take a toll on their bodies. (In John Hyde's case, prolonged agonized prayer and fasting led to his heart -reportedly- physically moving across his chest and his falling asleep in the Lord at the early age of 47.) The rest of us need to discipline ourselves to rest. We are made of flesh and soul and spirit (yes, I hold to the trichotomous view) and even in the resurrection we will have body, soul and spirit. We should not forget one in favour of another unless led to.

Oh, He gave me a bed-time of 2300hrs.