Tuesday, May 4

And he spent the night in prayer to God.
—Luke 6:12b

Under the silence of the stars, hid from the light of the sun and the freneticism of the day, there is the possibility of pouring out the contents of our hearts with honesty and authenticity.

Sleep is always a mighty temptation, as it was for the disciples who could not resist it though Jesus asked that they stay awake for but one hour. Something about the solitude of the night makes prayer difficult, but it is that very solitude in blackness that can become the most sacred time for prayer. It can become the time when the human heart meets heaven without any sham, pretense, or superficiality.

The darkness deftly slices through the excuses and defenses that keep the shade over the window of our soul. There in the thick shadows, the shade is lifted and in the hushed beat of nighttime the light of God floods over us. 

Suddenly, we have no desire to leave the place of prayer. We want only to surrender our soul to the holiness around us.

O God, let me fill the night with my prayers until I am enveloped by the light of heaven.

These Signposts originally appeared on explorefaith in 2004.