“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.“ (Acts 12:5-7, NIV)
Psalm 121:4 gives us a truth about God we often take for granted: “…indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” But you and I do, don’t we. Sometimes we sleep through what God is doing, both spiritually speaking and physically speaking. We often need to wake up to find out what the Lord is up to.
That was literally the case with Peter. God’s acting out season one of Prison Break and Peter’s sleeping through the whole thing!
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been known to “sleep” through my Bible reading, I’ve “slept” through worship services, even through sermons. But I’m asking God to send angels from now on to give me a sharp elbow to the side and wake me up. I don’t want to miss a thing he has in store.
Which reminds me…though our bodies sleep, our spirits do not. And, as we’ve seen, neither does God. So open yourself up to the idea of God speaking to you in the night. Some of the greatest moments with the Lord happen when he wakes us up to pray or gives us a spiritual dream. If you’re not looking for them, you can sleep through them, too.
Have a fantastic week!
Wide awake and looking for God,
Pastor Jim
