Night and Day

I Kings 8.29

May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You will hear the prayer Your servant prays toward this place. 

Today the Western Wall is open 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week for prayer. This follows the example of the temple where activity took place around the clock.

Now you can text prayer requests there and there is  live cam which enables you to see the activities there from your living room here.

We are told in Psalm 121:3-4 He will not let your foot slip—He Who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He Who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 

God is with us all the time, at daytime and nighttime.  His eyes are on us. He is listening to prayers all the time. That is why the temple was always open. The temple/tabernacle was actually a copy on earth of what is in heaven. When you get to Revelation you find that the city of the New Jerusalem is never closed, the gate are always open. It is day all the time. No night there.

1. This scripture is to be taken literally.

Night 

Hours of Darkness

Psalm 134:1 Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who minister by night in the house of the LORD.

The light of the lamp stand never went out, reflective of heaven. 

Exodus 27:20-21  Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning. In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the LORD from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come. 

The watches of the night 6pm-6am

Psalm 119:147-148 I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in Your  Word. My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises. 

God created the night.  Psalm 104:20 You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl. 

Many times it is during the nighttime when we are troubled. Fear, anxiety and imagination can run rampant at night or in a night season. 

It is amazing what we can imagine in the dark! I hung up a shirt on the outside of the closet door next to my bed the other night, woke up an thought for a second someone was standing there! Our imaginations can and often do run wild.

Our fears are enlarged in the dark. Unresolved issues come to our minds and steal sleep from us. We have time to think at night.

It is for a time of rest. For many it is restless, anxiety ridden and stress filled. We need to tap into the many promises of God for peace and rest. There are many.

Eternal Day in heaven, God is the light.

Day time has its own temptations.

An ease in Zion

Sodom's problem

Ezekiel 16:49-50 Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. 

Overfed and unconcerned about the poor and the needy

Wesley saw it. When people come to Christ and He begins to change their lives they begin to improve and have more money and make wiser decisions.

Dark time in the light.

2. It also can be taken figuratively.

The Valley of the Shadow of Death

The Dark Night of the Soul

These are times when God seems so far away if not altogether absent and trials of spiritual drought and life problems are one's constant companion. This dark night tests and torments the depths of our soul. You know it when you're in it.

There are times of difficulties in lives of followers of Jesus when things don't make sense, when life is overwhelming, when we have more than we can handle. Out of those times hope seems far off. It is hard to pray. 

In those times when we feel like we are barely holding onto our faith in the LORD, He is holding onto us. He is with us. He has us in the palm of His Hand.

When wee feel wiped out, overwhelmed, worthless, God is there. He will reveal Himself to us. Wait for Him.

An enemy can bring a cloud to our lives.

Deuteronomy 20:4 For the LORD your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.

An enemy can be someone we thought was a friend:

Psalm 55:12-14 If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at  the House of God, as we walked about among the worshipers. 

Physical illness can be a time of night.

When we don't feel well we often get down.

When we are being treated for some malady it can seem the LORD is far away.

In the darkest of nights He is with us

His comfort and strength are ours

With His love He gently holds us

And will until we are finally home.

3. We need to remember the Truth of God's Eye upon us.

Always

Psalm 33:18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love.

Sometimes we forget He is watching us. We grow discouraged without this knowledge. We need to be reminded. I believe one of the age old tactics of the enemy, one of his most vicious lies is to tell God’s people in one form or another that God is not going to see when they are tempted or when they are down that God does not  of this).

Isaiah 40:27 Why do you complain, Jacob?Why do you say, Israel,“My way is hidden from the LORD ; my cause is disregarded by my God”? 

The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. Proverbs 15.3

*He is observing us.

We do things to be seen by our Father. We do things in secret. He rewards us in the open.

*He is looking out for us.

He knows what is coming up and works all things together for our good.

*He is watching us closely.

Psalm 34:15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; 

His ear is always attentive to our cry.

That does not mean we will always get instantaneous answers to prayer.

Lazarus is an example of the "delayed" answer to prayer or the perfect timing of it.

It does mean God hears us. 

He loves us.

He is doing what is best.

Pray continually. If you are not there yet, keep seeking.

Fast forward to the first century to the Day of Pentecost:

Acts 1:12-14 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. 

Some believe the place where they met was in one of those rooms off the temple itself. Somewhere near the temple, in Jerusalem, God poured His Spirit out on that Day of Pentecost after Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension.

His words were fulfilled:

Acts 1:4-5, 8 On one occasion, while He was eating with them, He gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift My Father promised, which you have heard Me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

You will receive power.

You will be my witnesses here and around the world.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the gift of God for the followers of Jesus.

Song God Leads Us Along