Sleeping has never been a problem for me. I am one of those people who drops into slumber within minutes of my head hitting the pillow.
And once I’m asleep...I might as well be dead as Moses. Armageddon could happen while I am asleep, and I would be clueless.
Not so Captain. Eight nights out of ten, he falls asleep in his recliner in the living room. On the two nights he actually gets into bed at the same time I do, he might (I’m told) make it an hour and then it’s out to the recliner. If there are mornings when I wake up and he is still in bed with me, I have to check and make certain he isn’t dead as Moses.
Before I fall asleep, I have a chat with God. I always try to have more “thank yous” than “pleases” when we talk because otherwise I feel rude. When I do have pleases to bring up, if they are for or about me and mine, it’s really quite simple. Thy will be done and just get us through it.
If I am praying for someone else, it’s not so easy. Often when we pray for others, we don’t really know the specific reason they need prayers; we just know they are going through some struggles. How do you cover that?
Here’s my dilemma. I have heard two schools of thought regarding prayer. One is to not tell God what to do--He’s got it covered and doesn’t need us interfering. The other is to pray intentionally and specifically. That seems a little rude and overbearing to me, but it’s a school of thought.
And how is “specific” defined? What if a person’s prayer is “Please make me rich.” First off, that’s a rotten prayer to begin with, but it’s too vague. What if, in answer to that prayer, the person has a beloved family member die and leave their vast pots of money to the prayee? Is the price worth the answered prayer? I think not.
So, back to the sleep thing and people struggling and how to intentionally and specifically say a prayer to really help that person.
I know that a lot of people aren’t like me and don’t fall asleep or stay asleep easily on the best of days, much less during times of high stress and struggle. Therefore, when I pray for someone who I know needs some divine intervention, I pray that God gives that person one night of deep, restful, uninterrupted sleep that lets them wake up refreshed and ready to face whatever it is they are facing.
It may not seem like much compared to “please cure his/her cancer,” but it’s specific, it’s sincere, and it can be extremely helpful to the person I am praying for.
I can’t do much to make this world a better place, but if a simple request for a good night’s sleep makes someone else’s road easier to walk...I’m all about that.
Images used:
http://www.imgion.com/images/02/Sweet-dreams-with-restful-night.jpg
http://www.kappit.com/img/pics/201502_1557_bghfg_sm.png
http://gospelhomemaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Colossians4.2.jpg
https://hrexach.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/ang12.jpg
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