Jesus knew when He needed to talk to His heavenly Father, and He offers us a special kind of rest when we seek Him.

We have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest (2 Chronicles 14:7, NIV).

It happened again last night. 

Sometime in the wee hours, I stirred from sleep to a dark house. On this particularly night, the dewy scent of spring nature wafted through the bedroom window and pulled me to attention. 

God had gotten me alone again to listen for Him.

Have you ever woken with the sense that you needed to take a concern to Jesus? Maybe someone’s face appeared in your sleepy thoughts, or possibly a nagging doubt presented itself again. Maybe a feeling of conviction over some sin kept you from quickly returning to peaceful slumber.

All of those reasons and more have claimed my sleep many times over. In fact, I think I wake up two-thirds of most nights with the conscious need to talk to Jesus. It’s precious time, really. Often the quietest I have.

Last night’s wake-up left me seeking Him about a hurting loved one whose nights are particularly difficult. When I hear God’s middle-of-the- night call to present something or someone before His throne, I’m eager to do so, even though I know I may be sleepy later. Some things just take priority, you know?

After praying, my heart and mind felt restful, and I fell back to sleep. Then when I got about the day a few hours later, I sensed again that I needed to talk with Jesus, this time about a concern of my own. And again, only after releasing my burdened thoughts to Him did my spirit rest.

Jesus knew when He needed to talk to His heavenly Father (Luke 5:16), and He offers us a special kind of rest when we seek Him (Jeremiah 29:13; Matthew 11:28). What a gracious gift! But even more gracious is how He lets us know we need to seek Him when we’re not conscious to recognize the need ourselves (Romans 8:26).

FAITH STEP: Pay attention to Jesus’ hints to seek Him today. What comes to mind? Pray it through, and enjoy His rest.

Written by Erin Keeley Marshall