Thankful for the Night Watches

After Joanne was released from the Heart Hospital last week, I dropped her off at home, then went to the pharmacy to pick up her prescriptions.  The Pharmacist questioned the prescriptions, and we called the release nurse who affirmed them to be rare but not impossible.  Without going into detail, my wife was to continue taking her blood thinner for one month then switch to a new medication, but the faulty prescription had her beginning the new medicine immediately, meaning she would be on a dangerous combination of medicines, just forty-eight hours following her heart procedure. Early the next morning we received a phone call from the Surgeon’s P.A. who had awakened in the night, knowing something was incorrect and got up to review the prescriptions.  Fortunately, Joanne was still asleep and thus had not yet begun the new medication, which would have been dangerous, if not more so.  Three times in the Bible, there is a reference to the “night watches” (Psalm 63:3; 119:148; Lamentations 2:19). In biblical times there were four watches of the night when sentinels or guards would be on duty to keep watch over a city or camp. In the spiritual application, the four watches offer a framework for understanding the importance of spiritual alertness. God often awakens believers (and even non-believers) in the midst of the night to intercede for those who are in need, such as missionaries or others who are on the other side of the globe where is it daytime. The other night, a Surgeon’s P.A. was awakened in the night to double check Joanne’s hospital release document. Needless to say, we are very thankful for the night watches. Next time this happens to you, check with God before returning to sleep.