Slices
Prepare
‘He who watches over you … will neither slumber nor sleep’ (Psalm 121:3,4). Pray: ‘Thank you, Lord, that you are always there for us.’
Bible passage
A song of ascents.
1 Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.
3 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.
Explore
We depend on many different people whose work is night work: nurses, care workers, doctors, people in emergency services, armed forces, transport, hospitality, manufacturing, security and many more. Some readers of these notes will be reading this before or after doing a night shift.
There was night work for the Levites working in the Temple (1 Chronicles 9:27,33; 23:28–30). Their tasks were various, not least continuing the praise of God day and night, as they had for centuries. This brief psalm was perhaps the Temple worshippers giving encouragement liturgically to the Levites on night duty (vs 1,2), and verse 3 was the Levites responding, assuring the congregation of the Lord’s blessing on them as they headed home. Or perhaps it was a general act of fellowship that included everyone in the Temple. They turned to the Lord in praise, and believed the promise of his blessing, entrusting themselves to their faithful Creator at the end of the day.
How do you end the day? As the needle on a compass reverts to magnetic north when at rest, how good it is if our heart and mind can reset before sleep. A verse, a prayer or a page from a Christian book last thing at night can help us daily to rest in Christ.
Respond
Pray for any people you know whose work includes night work, that the Lord who never sleeps will give them alertness, compassion and resilience.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: 1 Samuel 14,15; Proverbs 25,26
Pray for Scripture Union
Pupils from Lusoti High School in Eswatini enjoyed an SU trip to Durban in South Africa in August. The aim was to promote fellowship and unity among the SU members in the school. They came back more united and with new purpose. Pray that this will strengthen the work of SU Eswatini.