FAITH CAPSULE: Are you sleeping or sleep is holding you down?

Psalm 13, Acts 12

King David said, “Considered and hear me, O Lord my God; enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; lest my enemy say I have prevailed against him, lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.”(Psalm 13:3-4) Before the making of this statement by King David, it is evident that he was concerned about not getting an answer for a prayer request when He earlier stated, “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1) Are you one that is looking up to God for intervention in any particular area of life? It could be that your situation demands more time to be awake in praying instead of sleeping the sleep of death. Peter once slept the sleep of death while under the harassing hand of Herod. Despite the fact that the same hand of King Herod took the life of James, the brother of John, Peter could not keep himself up and awake from a sleep of death. Sleeping the sleep of death is not only a time when one goes on bed to lie down and have eyes shut. For a believer, sleeping the sleep of death could mean taking a place of inactivity where challenges of the wicked one demands constant and persistent prayer. Paul and Silas could not sleep in the face of an evil agenda. Paul and Silas engaged in an overnight prayer and praise, worshiping God. By virtue of their action (Prayer and praising God), hell had no choice but to loose its grip on their life and deliverance was set in place for both of them. Interestingly, the same Peter went to the mount of prayer with Jesus and slept. Luke 9:32, “But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.” It was the prayer of the church that delivered Peter. It could have been that the same group that prayed for Peter must have been asleep when James was being terminated by the hand of Herod. Apparently, the death of James must have called for the church’s attention to pray for Peter. It is written, “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constantprayer was offered to God for him by the church.  And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.” (Acts 12:5-6) Peter could have been dead before fulfilling his divine assignment, but prayer of church in time of his sleeping prevailed on his behalf. David could not afford to go into sleep of death, he asked God to enlighten his eyes. Are you sleeping or sleep is holding you down?

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to be alive and awake where there is need for it.