August 27
The Last Thought at Night
For reading & meditation - Psalms 4
"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." (v. 8)
Let your last thought at night be a thought about your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The last thoughts that lie on our minds at night are powerful and determinative, for the door into the subconscious is opening and they drop in to work good or evil. It's bad enough struggling with evil thoughts while you are awake; don't let them take control while you are asleep. Your conscious mind may be inactive while you are asleep, not so the subconscious. The last thoughts lying in your mind as you go to sleep usually become the "playthings" of the subconscious, and it works on these during the hours you are asleep. If it is true that your mind is active while you are asleep - and there certainly seems to be plenty of evidence to support this theory, then make your mind work in a positive and not a negative way. Satan delights in dropping an evil thought into your mind during the moments immediately prior to sleep, because he knows that it will work destructively all through the night, influencing your attitudes and most likely preventing you from enjoying a peaceful night's sleep. Then when you wake, you find that not only do you have to face the problems of another day, but you also have to face them without having drawn fully on the resources available to you through sleep. Thus begins a recurring pattern which cannot help but drag you down. So learn to elbow out any evil thought that enters your mind just before sleep, and let your last thought be a thought of Christ.
Prayer: Father, if it is true that my mind works when I am asleep, then help me to make it work for good and not for evil. Teach me the art of holding a thought about You on my mind immediately prior to going to sleep. I shall begin tonight, Lord. Amen.
For Further Study
1. When does God's day start?
2. Why is it important to meditate on God's Word at night?