A Friend

The night is a friend.  Some call it friend because it hides evil, but others call it friend because of the things it brings.  Silence is one of the things brought by the night.  Stillness is another.  The night invites us to put aside our hurried stuff and rest.  Even as our bodies are slowed, so are our own minds.  It becomes a time of waiting.  Some wait for the hour of sleep to come.  Others know the night as a time to reflect on the day that is past, the plans for tomorrow, the concerns of the day, and to bring them into the presence of the always waiting Lord.   

Jesus often used the night as a time for prayer.  After a night of prayer with the Father, He knew who He was to call into the intimate group known as the Twelve.  "...He (Jesus) went out to the mountains to pray; and He spent the night in prayer to God.  And when day came, He called His disciples  and chose twelve of them..." (Luke 6:12-13).  The Psalmist also was one who valued the night.  In Psalm 63:5-6 we read, "My soul is satisfied...when I think of You on my bed, and meditate on You in the watches of the night."  

I remember as a boy in Alamo finding this verse from the Psalms in my Bible one night during a time of reading the Word.  I am sure that I did not understand all that such a Word could be saying, but even then it alerted me enough to underline it.  As a trail weary disciple who is intent on continuing the journey as long as grace allows, I have come to understand that the night hours are truly friends.  The gentleness of those hours has opened the door of my heart to hear and experience the holy in my presence more times than I can count and for such a blessing, I am eternally grateful.