The Watches of the Night

God separated the day from the night. However, ancient tradition divided day and night even further. Long ago, began the watches of the night. The Jews originally had three watches, or times of prayer. But after the prevailing of the Roman empire, the Roman watch times were incorporated into Jewish tradition. For the Romans, the word watches was a military term signifying different durations when a soldier was on duty. Each watch was divided into three hours. A bell or a trumpet would sound and alert the soldiers of the changing of the watch.

HISTORY

The history of prayer being held at certain times of the day (and night), goes back to the Old Testament when the priest would offer morning and evening sacrifices at the temple. After the Babylonian exile around 597 B.C. temple sacrifices were no longer an option. Instead, the Psalms and hymns were recited in place of the times of the sacrifice.

Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! Psalm 141:2

In contrast to our day beginning at midnight, the Jewish day begins at sundown, which is considered to be around 6 PM. Though they don’t technically consider it night until they see three stars in the sky. Considering sundown as the beginning of a day, can seem pretty strange. However, if you think about the book of Genesis, when the world was created, the night came first.

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. Genesis 1:2-5

TIMES OF PRAYER

The Jewish designated hours of prayer was not required, but it was expected. There were three times in the day that most Jews prayed. The third hour (9am), the sixth hour (noon) and the ninth hour (3pm). These hours of prayer coincided with the times of temple sacrifices.

Praying three times a day is a great way to create a holy habit of coming before the Lord. Our days become so busy and full of distractions that having set times to pray, can actually be very beneficial. This can help us keep our focus on God and avoid falling into temptation. Even King David prayed three times a day as we can see from the Psalms he wrote.

Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and He hears my voice. Psalm 55:17

DANIEL

The prophet, Daniel also had set prayer times. Daniel was one of three high officials who was set over the whole kingdom under King Darius (Daniel 6:1-2). He was a very busy man, yet he still found time to pray at his home three times a day. Daniel prayed even after knowing he faced a consequence of death. He was unconcerned with the formation of a wicked decree. He was not ashamed to be a man of God. He kept His eyes toward Jerusalem, towards God. Daniel is a perfect example of making prayer a priority.

When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. Daniel 6:10

STAY AWAKE

When Jesus was with the disciples, there was an understanding of taking time to pray. As we see, in scripture, He encouraged the disciples to be awake at the hour of prayer. Additionally, Jesus often withdrew to be alone with God to be in His presence and to pray.

Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— lest He come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake. Mark 13:35-37


Prayer is often done in the middle of the night. Before Jesus was crucified, he went to Gethsemane and prayed with his closest disciples. He wanted them to watch and pray during this time. But they fell asleep three times. If you ever wake up in the middle of the night, make it a priority to talk to God and pray during that time.

And He came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Mark 14:37-38

Prayer keeps us close to God and away from sin. How quickly we forget to pray when face with crisis. Set times of prayer protects us from falling into temptation because our focus is on the most important thing – God.

4TH WATCH OF THE NIGHT

When studying, I found that personally, the 4th watch of the night held a little more weight than the others. Several scriptures reference this time frame, and interestingly, there is a tradition that this is a critical time of day for prayer.

Some Jewish scholars believe the mysteries of God are revealed in the fourth watch of the night. It is believed that those who pray during the two hours before sunrise can often receive special revelation or the mysteries of God. It is the quiet time before the day dawns.

Call to Me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. Jeremiah 33:3

Here are a list of a few things in scripture that happened during the forth watch of the night (3am – 6am):

Jacob wrestled with God (Genesis 32).
Jesus walks on water (Mark 6, Matthew 14).
Jesus withdraws to pray and prepares to preach the gospel (Mark 1).
Jesus spends time in prayer (Luke 6).

And He saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. Mark 6:48

DEATH OF JESUS

If we look at the procession of Christ’s conviction and death (see chart above), significant events fall on the hours of prayer. Jesus is convicted, He’s crucified at the 3rd hour, darkness comes at the 6th hour until the 9th hour and Jesus dies at the 9th hour. He is buried before sunset. The hours of prayer were also referenced in the book of Acts.

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. Acts 3:1

The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. Acts 10:9

TRADITION FOR A REASON

Historically, prayer is considered one of the main duties of the church. However, praying at certain times throughout the day is not practiced by many Christians. The Catholic faith and many saints incorporated the ‘liturgy of the hours’ which closely aligns with ancient tradition, but why not other Christians? Clearly prayer was important to Jesus.

I think prayer can be difficult for many of us because we don’t exactly know how or what to pray. But when we realize that prayer isn’t just asking God for help but rather spending time with Him, it shifts our understanding. God wants to spend time with us. We get to come into His presence. He’s the King and He wants to spend time with us.

MOVE MOUNTAINS

What’s beautiful about the church praying at the hours of prayer is that ALL of us are praying at one time to our father in heaven. Imagine the impact this could have on our own lives, our family, our city. If everyone in your immediate and/or church family is praying to God at the same time, it could move mountains!

Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lamentations 2:19

I want to encourage you to pray at certain times throughout the day (and night). Set a reminder. Consider getting up before dawn to pray during the 4th watch. Try starting with a few of your favorite psalms. Read them out loud at night, then pray, then listen and allow God to speak to you. After you have read a psalm enough times you automatically will commit it to memory. Now try a new psalm. End your prayer time with praise and thankfulness.

There are lots of resources online for praying the Psalms. Additionally, I have a lot of FREE scripture printables on my website at www.greeneyedgrace.com. Start praying scripture today and draw close to God.

On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:6-8 NIV