Anyone find themselves waking up at three, four or even five o’clock in the morning? Like on the dot, not one minute more or one minute less. Who’s with me?
I just learned that in Jewish culture, the Jews believed God roamed the earth around this time during what the Bible refers to as the “Fourth Watch”, the last watch between three and six in the morning. Mark 6:45-52, Luke 5:3-5, Mark 1:35, John 11:9.
There were four watches. The first watch was from six p.m. to nine p.m. , the second watch was from nine p.m. to twelve a.m. , the third watch was from twelve a.m. to three a.m. and fourth watch was from three a.m to six a.m. Jesus often prayed during the fourth watch, and some scholars believe that He did this because He believed the Jewish belief that God roamed the earth to impart the secrets of His heart; imparting dreams and night visions.
Anyone find themselves waking up at three, four or even five o’clock in the morning? Like on the dot, not one minute more or one minute less. Who’s with me?
I have often found myself waking up at exactly four o’clock in the morning. Not one minute more, not one minute less. But I didn’t understand why! I’ve actually asked some of my friends if they also wake up around this time, and a lot of them said yes. But we chalked it up to hormones. Haha.
I watch a lot of videos featuring some of my favorite pastors and teachers. You know how You Tube will suggest what you might like to watch next? Well this suggestion was for a video on the fourth watch by Pastor Perry Stone. I watched it, and I was amazed how the Lord used it to answer the question I have had for years….”What is it with my sudden, early morning lack of melatonin?”
Years ago, during a seemingly impossible fight in my life, the Lord woke me up at four a.m. (I noted it in my Bible.) The Lord said to get up and read the scriptures. So with my groggy, blurry vision I popped opened the Bible and it fell to the book of Daniel (to the part where Daniel prayed to the Lord for revealing the mysteries of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.) It was really important that Daniel get the interpretation, because if not, he and his friends would be killed the next day. The part in the story that jumped out to me was where Daniel says to God..You are the God who gives the mysteries of your heart. Please reveal this mystery to me so I can deliver the meaning to King Neb! (totally paraphrased)
So after I read it, I prayed…”God would you reveal the mysteries of what is happening to me? What will happen to me?!?” Then I fell back to sleep only to wake up about an hour later with sounds of shouting angels. I had a dream from the Lord which showed me the court room where I had been literally fighting for my life. He showed me that as He would be fighting for my victory, loud choirs of angels would shout “By the Spirit of the Lord!” in the spirit realm.
Three years later, the victory was won! I was rescued and delivered by the Spirit of the Lord, just like the four a.m. night vision showed me; the mysteries, the secrets of God’s heart as He roamed the earth during the fourth watch. I’ll never forget it as long as I live, and I hung on to that night vision until the day I was delivered.
I know that was what the Lord woke me up for, and I wonder how many other people He woke up at the same time, urging them to pray!
That four a.m. awakening by the Lord was more of an urgency for me and my life, but what about when God wakes us up to give us a burden to pray for others?
Now that I think of it, I had a fourth watch prayer appointment just a few months ago. I woke up somewhere between two and four a.m. (this time I didn’t look at the clock, but I remember it was dark and everyone in the house had been asleep for a while). I woke up with a strong burden for someone I didn’t even know. I knew in my spirit that it was a young (perhaps college aged) girl who had been out too late; maybe partying, and she was in a lot of serious trouble. I immediately recognized the Lord was asking me to pray, and in my spirit I knew it was Him urging me to pray for her safety. So I did.
About three days later, I was at work when a colleague of mine, who’s husband works for the sheriff’s department, asked me if I’d heard about the young lady who had been raped. (OK, if your anything like me, you are so sensitive that you don’t like hearing this stuff because it stays with you forever. I almost told her I didn’t want to know, but I went ahead and listened to her anyway, and I’m glad I did because it taught me a valuable lesson)
She went on to tell me the story of what happened. She said that a young sixteen year old girl had been at a college party where a young man and two of his friends offered to bring her home. He (the driver) and the other two boys, stopped by his (the driver’s) house and told her he had to get something really quick. It turned out he took his roommate’s cash for rent and a shotgun. They ended up raping her by gunpoint. I’ll spare you the details. But when law enforcement received a call from the perpetrator’s roommate saying he stole his rent money and reported it giving a description of his car, they went looking for him.
Later, around two to three a.m. a deputy spotted the car in a park along the river. Not knowing what he would find, they approached the car and saw the driver in the front seat, (with the shot gun between his seat and the middle console) and a terrified young girl with two boys in the back seat. He ended up arresting the boys and later they were charged accordingly.
( My son, who serves with the National Guard, told me about this app called “Mayday” . Now we all have it installed on our smart phones in case one of us is in trouble. It’s worth checking out, you can find it at your app store.)
This story makes me so sick, so burdened. But I know it was the reason the Lord woke me up. I wonder how many other people He woke up at the same time, urging them to pray! Our intersession is powerful, and He invites us to make a difference y’all!! God only knows what could have happened if the deputy didn’t get the call from the roommate and go looking for him. I believe the rescue was a result of prayer. I haven’t heard about how the young girl is doing, but I pray for her healing and salvation if she’s not saved.
“Lord, help me be aware of what you are telling me in my spirit. I want to pray for those who are in need of safety and healing. Please don’t let me sleep though the fourth watch. I want to be a part of what you are doing on behalf of those is need.” Amen
