“I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.” Psalm 16:7.  “My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night.” Psalm 63:5-6.

Many times I find myself waking up from sleep with a word from God or a praise to God in my mind.  I know it was not initiated by my own thinking because it is in my mind the moment I wake up before I have time to get oriented to get my mind working myself.  It has always been clear to me that this was placed there by the Holy Spirit in the watches of the night.  This is confirmed by the scriptures above which teach that the Lord gives counsel and praises even while a Christian sleeps.  The word for “heart” is actually better translated “kidneys”.  The kidneys and their fat were always to be burnt in sacrifice, to indicate that the most secret purposes and affections of the soul are to be devoted to God.

My waking thoughts from the Holy Spirit are always an application of Scripture and sometimes seem profound.  However, more often they are simple reminders of spiritual applications that relate to something that is going on in my life.  Today I had one of those experiences as I woke up with the clear message that “Not only do I hear your prayers but I act on them”.  Nothing profound – something all Christians believe but it related to prayers I had been recently making requesting God to move on a particular matter in my life to which I have heard no answer or seeming action from the Lord.  It was strongly indicated that there was more emphasis on the part “I act on it”.  It made a great impression on me and reminded me, weak as I am in my faith, that God always acts on our prayers even if we see no tangible evidence.  Sometimes he chooses not to act, or delays acting in our best interests but he is always acting on our prayers.

This morning message from the Holy Spirit was a great encouragement to me as all of them are.  I wonder if the Lord can better communicate with me when I am asleep and have no distractions.  This reminds me to dedicate more quiet devotion time with Him during the day. In any event, I look forward to future morning instruction from my Lord!