“In a real dark night of the soul it is always 3 o’clock in the morning, day after day.” Maybe you can identify with that sad and melancholic statement that was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in his book, The Crack-Up.

I rarely suffer from insomnia, but on those occasions when I wake up a few hours before my alarm is scheduled to go off and can’t get back to sleep, Fitzgerald’s line often crosses my mind. Not that I’m comparing my mental state in moments like these to what Fitzgerald was experiencing, but the dark hours of the night can often be accompanied by dark or dreary thoughts.

As a pastor, I’ve had quite a few people share with me about their experiences of awakening in the middle of the night, or in the wee hours of the morning before sunrise, and being overwhelmed with regret, thoughts of despair, fear of what is to come, or of a future without much hope.

My father-in-law, the late pastor and evangelist J.D. Hamel (a graduate of Ashland Theological Seminary), used to say, “When you can’t sleep, don’t count sheep, talk to the Shepherd.” I don’t know if the phrase originated with him, or not, but it is undoubtedly the best response in the middle of a sleepless night.

Recently, a Venezuelan pastor friend of mine, Antonio Massi, stated in a sermon that he firmly believes that our enemy often takes the opportunity of the solitude and stillness of the late night or pre-dawn hours to attack our thoughts. He stated that in his own life, he has experienced some of his greatest moments of doubt, fear, and anxiety during those hours. His recommendation? Not only prayer, but praise! In those dark moments we can begin to praise and worship our Lord, our Savior, the Lover of our souls. Not simply by putting on some worship music in the background, but by genuinely praising Him with a sincere heart, in prayer or in song, and not just for what He has done, but for who He is! He is the only One worthy of all worship and praise by his all of His creation! In his own personal experience, Pastor Massi said that he likes to go to the psalms during those times, like the first five verses of Psalm 103: “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

If we combine the recommendations of these two veteran pastors, we can conclude that it would be best if we not only talk to our Shepherd in the middle of the darkness (whether that darkness be literal, or spiritual, or emotional or mental), but that we also praise Him, with the expectation that we will be comforted, strengthened and encouraged beyond what we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21).

I often find myself returning to Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” In verse 14 of that same psalm, David declares worshipfully, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” “I thank you, Lord, that I can come to you at any moment of the day or night to worship and praise you, with the assurance that you are with me, and that your plan and purpose for my life will be accomplished!”