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When my heart issues kicked in, I couldn’t sleep very well. I could either toss and turn or do something more productive, so I began to pray and read the Bible in the long hours of the night. I would pray for every need I could think of, whether I knew the people or not, if I’d heard of someone’s problems, I prayed for them. I prayed a lot for the people of North Korea, asking God to deliver them from the Kim family dictatorship, to feed the hungry, and for the Holy Spirit to infiltrate the country. I pray for other countries where I know Christians are persecuted.
I pray for our own country…for our president, our leaders…I cannot imagine trying to lead a country of people determined to destroy it from the inside out.
With the pollution of what is called “news” and all the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and, eh…blog posts in our faces, there is a constant churning of (not always accurate or truthful) information before our eyes. I am aware that looking at it is of my own choosing. I am reminded of a Sunday school song from long ago, “Oh, be careful little eyes what you see…”
I’m not always so careful. And I believe my spending too much time scrolling social media has affected my attention span, often reducing it to mere seconds. In less than a minute, I can scan 50 or more stories, posts, and advertisements. Is it any wonder my thoughts are out of control and explode in my head like a meteor shower? Sadly, my thoughts are not nearly as spectacular as asteroids and shooting stars.
I had a little more to say, but I’m out of time this morning…
so I’ll leave you with this thought:
It really is important what I think about,
and I know I need to choose better thoughts for myself.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8 ESV)
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| The birds have nothing to do with the post...I just like my zoo photos. |
I read your posts in the morning when I'm on my tablet, but its really hard to comment on it if I want to write a longer than normal comment, and then sometimes I forget to check back to see if there are any blogs I need to leave a comment on. By the grace of God when about to check Facebook, I remembered your post so came back to comment.
ReplyDeleteI love how you turned insomnia related to your heart/health issues into a productive time with the Lord. Lots of good praying time and spending time in the Word during that time I am sure. Years ago, a lady who ran a Bible study at the church we were at the time said she would pray that God would wake up people in the middle of the night to pray for her situation. I remembered that when awoken at 3 p.m. to say a prayer for anyone that might come to my mind or just a general prayer for those that needed it. Perhaps your intercessions made during this difficult time with your health will move mountains down the road with how God chooses to answer them.
betty
I do that...I read things (including email and text messages) on my phone and it is so hard to reply with a tiny keyboard...and sometimes I am at work or otherwise tied up and can't respond...but unlike you, I often forget for days!
DeleteThe praying and reading were necessary for my sanity. Those were some long, hard nights, but God is very gracious.
I am trying read the Bible through this year...I haven't gone all the way through in several years. I am a little behind because I went a few months without much reading. I am back on track now, hopefully.