Reasons for a night of prayer

Surely we must stand amazed at the comparative lack of prayer in the British churches.

Think about our nation at present. Family breakdown is rife. Street crime is at record levels. Our media is awash with pornography. There is abortion on demand. Drugs are easily available. The churches are dwindling. Islamic extremism is on the rise. I can imagine the Lord Jesus standing at the door of many a church prayer meeting and thinking to himself: 'What has to happen to this country before my people will come and take prayer seriously?'

Thankfully some churches are beginning to be more earnest about prayer. The latest prayer letter from evangelist Roger Carswell speaks of people coming to the Lord at a mission in a church in the north where he was speaking recently. Of this particular church he writes: 'People ask why they have seen so much blessing over the years. Well, they do have a prayer meeting 365 days a year ƒ'
With church members commuting to work and getting back late it can be more difficult to get to the old-fashioned mid-week prayer meeting. If that is genuine, then perhaps a way forward for a church is to begin or to increase the frequency of nights of prayer. An older Christian recently was talking about the success of youth rallies in Birmingham back in the 1950s. 'But', he said, 'we often had a night of prayer beforehand.'

What are the reasons for a night of prayer? Here are some:

Scriptural

The Lord Jesus spent nights in prayer during his ministry (Luke 6.12). The prophet Isaiah spoke about his concern for Zion in terms of praying and not keeping silent. His watchmen would 'never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem, and makes her the praise of the earth' (Isaiah 62.6,7). Rounding off his famous parable, the Lord Jesus tells us: 'Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night?' (Luke 18.6).

Prolonged

A night in prayer enables us to give a prolonged period to prayer. We know that God does not hear us for the length of our prayers but for our faith. But surely that is not meant to be used as an excuse to spend little time in prayer. Sadly, to give little time to prayer often indicates that we do not grasp its significance. It is E.M. Bounds who says: 'To give prayer the secondary place is to make God secondary in life's affairs.' When Nehemiah heard of the ruined and exposed state of Jerusalem he explains: 'For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven' (Nehemiah 1.4).

Not only so, but when we focus on a particular matter for prayer and give it time then often the Lord brings different aspects of the situation to our attention as we pray. In a rushed and busy world we are often robbed of time for prayer. Here is one way of regaining time. I am sure you are thinking about having to catch up on sleep the next day. But one way to do this is fairly practical. If we spend Friday night in prayer through until dawn, say 5.00 am, in the summer, then we can sleep from 5.00 until 9.00 am (which is a fair slice of sleep) and not lose too much from our Saturday - except for perhaps an hour's extra snooze in the afternoon. Life can continue fairly normally even if we do include a night of prayer.

Sacrificial

Depriving ourselves of sleep in order to pray is a form of fasting. Such fasting is a way of showing the Lord that we are earnest in our desires to see him intervene for his glory and answer our prayers. It may be comparatively easy to turn up at the weekly prayer meeting and pray for 40 minutes or an hour. But to undertake a night of prayer will cost us. To keep awake in order to pray may not be easy. That is one reason why it is good to engage in a night of prayer as a group of the Lord's people rather than individually.

Symbolic?

There may be a Scriptural symbolism too which supports the idea of praying through the night. The whole direction of God's plan of redemption moves from the darkness over the face of the deep at Creation (Genesis 1.2), through to the New Heavens and Earth, where there is 'no more night...for the Lord will give them light' (Revelation 22.5). God is propelling history eschatologically from the night into the great day. To pray through the night until the dawn harmonises with this great direction from night to day. By praying in Jesus's name through the night into the day is a way of symbolically aligning our concerns with the overall plan of God. Often in Scripture texts speak of God's help coming with the dawn (Psalm 30.5; Psalm 46.5).

Uninterrupted

The night is not only a long time, it is also a quiet time. The phone does not ring very often at 2.30 am. There are no pressing family or work responsibilities to be addressed in the wee small hours. This means that we can give our attention completely to our calling upon God for his glory and the good of his church.

A night of prayer is something which a small church can do just as easily as a large church. The idea of staying up through the night to engage with God in prayer may well appeal to the enthusiasm of young Christian people. Many young people have an adventurous streak in them which needs to be harnessed for God. A night of prayer might be just the vehicle through which the seriousness of the more mature and the eagerness of the young might be brought profitably together. Meanwhile the promise of Christ still stands: 'Ask and it will be given to you...'. The great Bible commentator Matthew Henry reflects on prayer: 'When God intends a great mercy for his people, then the first thing he does is set them a-praying.'

Nights of prayer? It might seem rather radical. But doesn't the ongoing disintegration of our lost society call for something radical?

Reasons for a night of prayer

Scriptural

Prolonged

Sacrificial

Symbolic?

Uninterrupted

John Benton

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