I’m not much of a napper – at least not an intentional napper.  People say that taking a nap in the afternoon is re-energizing and good for stimulating creativity.  I won’t argue with those findings, but I have never been able to incorporate napping into my routine.  I recall precious little from Kindergarten, but I remember the frustration of the enforced nap time.

On the other hand, I have been known to fall asleep unintentionally.  On Sunday afternoon.  In my chair.  Reading.  Watching a game on TV.

Making oneself fall asleep is almost impossible; ask any insomniac.  Preventing oneself from nodding off is almost as hard.  I have fallen asleep sitting upright, hands on the keyboard.  I have fallen asleep reading, even when I was deeply engaged in the book in my hands.  I have done pullups in the cab of the truck to keep myself from falling asleep at the wheel of an 80,000 pound semi.  When you are tired enough, sleep feels inescapable, an inevitability.

You know who doesn’t sleep?  God.  “He who keeps you will not slumber.” (Psalm 121:3)

God never nods off, never loses the plot, never zones out, never ceases from watchful attention.

Jesus asks his friends to “watch and pray” in the Garden of Gethsemane as he prays on the eve of his crucifixion. (Matthew 26:41).  Instead, they nap. 

I’m no one to judge.  Compared to all the things that lead me to unintentional napping (reading, baseball and football on TV) none compares to unintentional napping while praying.  And not just bedtime prayers, either.  Morning prayers… in a comfy chair… even kneeling at the altar rail in the sanctuary.  When Jesus asks his disciples, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour?” I squirm a little, because it doesn’t take anything like an hour for me to drift away.

In truth, we drift away without sleeping all the time. 

We are mostly unconscious to the grace that meets us at every moment, to the presence of God and to the wonder of life.  We are mostly asleep on our feet, even while wide awake.

But God isn’t asleep.  God will be there when you open your eyes; when you open your heart.  Watching.  Waiting.  Attending.

Prayer:  Constant Friend, nudge me now and then so I don’t miss the best parts.  Amen.