Thought for July 3, 2024

  • 1864: Battle of Chattahoochie River 
  • 1930: Veterans Administration created
  • 1962: Jackie Robinson inducted into the Baseball HOF
  • 1985: "Back to the Future" released
  • 1989: Supreme Court rules that states do not have to fund abortions
  • 1996: Parliament announces that the Stone of Scone [Stone of Destiny] will be returned to Scotland after 700 years in Westminster Abbey
  • Born: Samuel de Champlain, Franz Kafka, Julian Assange, George M Cohan, Tom Cruise, Dave Barry, 
  • Died: Jim Morrison, Lew Hoad, Joel Chandler Harris [Uncle Remus stories],  Rudy Vallee, Don Drysdale, Boots Randolph, Andy Griffith, 
Thought:
Some of us have trouble sleeping. A few days ago I was reading Psalm 127:2--"He gives to His beloved even in his sleep." Have you ever considered what keeps you from falling asleep, what wakes you in the middle of the night? A few years ago, one of my class gave me the book, "Valley of Vision"  which is a collection of Puritan prayers. The language is a little difficult at times, but there is power in these prayers. One of those prayers is about sleep. A portion of it reads as follows:

Thou hast promised thy beloved sleep; give me restoring rest needful for tomorrow's toil; if dreams are mine, let them not be tinged with evil. Let thy Spirit make my time of repose a blessed temple of his holy presence. . . . . I retire this night in full assurance of one day awakening with thee.

This ancient prayer really speaks to me this morning. I ask the Lord for sleep so that I will be rested and ready for a day of service tomorrow. This reminds me that my calling is into His service. So, I ask for rest to be ready and able to serve. Makes me wonder if I ask for things with the right motives. James 4:3 tells me that I ask and don't receive because I ask with the wrong motives so that I may spend it on pleasures. Makes me wonder if I ask for a good night’s rest so that I can serve Him effectively or so that I can seek my pleasures. 

Do I ask the Lord for good dreams? Do I ask that He speak to me even during my sleep? I am asking myself, what if every night my last thought was Lord speak to me in my sleep. Scientist say that we can play music or play someone speaking to us as we sleep and that subliminal thoughts will be transferred. What if I went to sleep reciting His word and asking that He read me His word during my sleep. 

What if I considered my sleep a time for Him to commune with me. Many in the Bible received visits from the Lord in dreams. Perhaps I should extend an invitation every night for Him to step into my sleep and dwell with me. 

The Puritan prayer talks about treating going to sleep as a kind of death, picturing closing my eyes here and opening them in His presence. That might remove my anxiety about the next day, thinking about opening my eyes into His forever and the glory and peace awaiting me there. 

Not sure why this Puritan prayer was on my mind this morning, but it may help me sleep better tonight. 


Blessings

Larry 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thought for July 19

History: 1553: Lady Jane Gray deposed after 9 days 1692: 5 people hung during Salem Witch Trials 1848: First women's rights convention -Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Wesleyan Chapel at Seneca Falls NY 1910: Cy Young wins his 500th game 1941: US Army flying school at Tuskegee AL dedicated 1945: USS Cod saves 51 sailors from Dutch sub--only sub-to-sub rescue 1957: Firing of first rocket with nuclear warhead-Nevada 1984: Geraldine Ferraro is first major party female VP candidate 1996: Olympics open in Atlanta 2007: Madmen debuts 2018: Duck Boat sinks in Table Rock Lake killing 17 Born: Samuel Colt, Edgar Degas [painter], Lizzie Borden, Charles Mayo [Mayo Clinic], George McGovern, Al Haig, George Hamilton IV, Vikki Carr, Ilie Nastase, Stuart Scott, Benedict Cumberbatch,  Died: Syngman Rhee [President South Korea], Clyde Beatty [circus animal trainer], Mary Jo Kopechne [passenger with Ted Kennedy], Jack Warden, Frank McCourt [Angela's Ashes], James Garner, Garry Marshall
Read more

Thought for November 23, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving!  1664: Blaise Pascal is converted following a vision. He wrote the date and time of his conversion and said, "Fire. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. Not of philosophers and intellectuals. Certitude, certitude, joy, peace. The God of Jesus Christ." Laid the foundation for the law of probabilities; genius in hydrodynamics and hydrostatics developing Pascal's principle of pressure; taught the experience of God through the heart rather than reason; mathematician and philosopher. 1783: Annapolis Maryland becomes U.S. Capitol until June 1784 1863: Patent for making color photographs granted 1889: First jukebox debuts in Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco 1897: Pencil sharpener patented 1904: Summer Olympics in St. Louis close [1st Olymics in U.S.] 1921: President Harding signs an Act prohibiting doctors from prescribing beer or liquor for medicinal purposes 1923: Cecil B. DeMille's first "The Ten Commandments" premiers
Read more

Thought for April 5, 2024

1722: Easter Island discovered 1792: First Presidential veto 1815: Mt. Tambora erupts. Largest eruption ever witnessed. Created year without summer in 1816--frost and snow in North America in June and July. Largest part of eruption on April 10th. Killed 10,000 in initial blast.  1906: Mt. Vesuvius erupts killing 100 1923: Firestone begins producing inflatable tires 1936: Tupelo almost completely destroyed by a tornado--216 die 1972: Baseball strike costs 86 games 2063: On "Star Trek", earth has its first contact with the Vulcan species Born: Thomas Hobbes, Joseph Lister, Booker T Washington, Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, Gregory Peck, Arthur Hailey. Gale Storm, Frank Gorshin, Colin Powell, Pharrell Williams Died: Robert Raikes [Sunday School], Douglas MacArthur, Howard Hughes, Abe Fortas, Sam Walton, Allen Ginsberg, Saul Bellow, Charlton Heston, Honor Blackman Thought: Reading Daniel 1:5-7 this morning. Continuing with the thoughts about Nebuchadnezzar's plan. Having brough
Read more