Prayer Power

Helps for Worry Filled Nights
By Petey Prater

It’s a yoyo night. Up and down. Anxiety swallows my sleep. Hot milk, television, pacing. Where is Jesus? Back in bed I clench my eyelids shut, willing my mind to silence. Picturing my problem in my hand I ‘throw’ it out of bed. No good, my problem comes back glued to my hand, screaming, “ Worry!”

Accusing voices begin. The enemy says, “You’ve failed, that child will never be whole.” I command Satan and demon powers to be silent in Jesus name only to hear the voice of self, blaming, “It’s your fault. You’re a lousy mother. There’s no remedy.”

Insomnia. What keeps your stomach churning, your eyes staring into midnight blackness? Is your teenager living on the streets? Is the stack of bills higher than the stack of money? Are you terrified over a cancer diagnosis? Is divorce the only solution to the fighting and heartache you live with daily?

Whatever the problem, we’ve got to find a way to leave anxiety with Jesus and go to sleep. The choice? Toss and turn or get up and pray. Giving Jesus the problem is the only way to peace and rest.

When sleep eludes and distress overwhelms, these prayer methods work. Climb out of bed and apply these truths, they’ll help you too.

Midnight Methods To Defeat Worry

Worship Jesus whether you feel like praising or not. Sing along with a praise tape. Watch worship videos on television. Meditate – think about – Jesus’ names. What do those names mean to you? For instance, Psalm 18:2: how is Jesus your ‘rock,’ your ‘fortress,’ or your ‘deliverer’? Praise him for the ways he’s rescued you in the past. Praise looks past circumstances and sees God. “I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” Psalm 9:1,2
Can’t speak prayers? Write them. Writing helps us focus. Write the problem and your feelings then ‘give’ it to Jesus by placing it near his picture or burning it as an offering. Thank him. He hears you and will answer. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:14,15
Write down positive traits of the problem person. Thank God for their strengths and past answers to prayer. Praising positives refocuses your trust in God. “He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us….” 2 Corinthians 1:10,11
Quote encouraging scripture. If you’ve journaled scripture promises speak them to God claiming them as yours. “You said, Lord, ‘He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.’ ” Psalm 107:20 Don’t have a promise journal? Begin one tonight. Then go to bed. Faith trusts God’s character and his Word. As Pastor Ron Mehl says, “God works the night shift.”

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Petey Prater is a Beaverton, OR writer and speaker who can be reached at peteyprater@yahoo.com. Among her writing credits are contributions to two books:

Prayers for Troubled Times by Jeannie St John Taylor, AMG Publishers and
101 Stories of Answered Prayer by Jeannie St John Taylor, AMG Publishers.