LEARN TO PRAY AT NIGHT
MEMORISE: Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces. Jeremiah 6:5
READ: Matthew 13:24 -30
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
MESSAGE
The night-time is a major time when enemies attack. Mathew 13:25 says: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
When everyone else is sleeping, witches and wizards are holding meetings at night and launching attacks on souls and destinies. It would be dangerous for you to be sleeping at that time; rather, that is when you should be fighting. That is when you should be firing arrows at the kingdom of darkness.
In the Bible reading for today, the servant of the house owner slept all night, during which time the enemy was able to come and sow tares. It was in the morning that he realized that the enemy had tampered with his work. Many people wake up in the morning only to realize that the enemy had tampered with their work, lives or destinies in the middle of the night. Not I! I will fight at night and not allow the devil in at all.
When the servant went to report to his master that someone had tampered with his work, the master told him not to remove what the enemy had planted immediately. He had to live with the tares that the enemy planted until the day of harvest. He now had more work to do to ensure that he had a good harvest at the end of the day, and of course, the tares must have also affected the yield of some of his crop negatively. You work less in the daytime when you pray at night. It is better to stop the enemy from sowing tares at all than to engage in damage control after the tares have been sown.
Some people wonder why we hold programmes in the middle of the night. When we conduct those vigils, we are engaging in warfare. In Matthew 26:41, the Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples to watch and pray. He gave the instruction at night. Have you ever wondered why, in Acts 16:25-2, Paul and Silas waited until midnight before they began to pray and sing praises to God? They knew the effectiveness of midnight prayer and praise. Learn to pray at night.
KEY POINT
Make it a custom to pray regularly at night.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicles 29-31
HYMN 22: SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER
1 Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare,
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
2 Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face,
And gladly take my station there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
3 Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
4 Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight.
This robe of flesh I’ll drop, and rise
To seize the everlasting prize,
And shout, while passing through the air,
“Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of pray
