Last night I prayed myself to sleep. I had so much on my mind, and I am so weary with the tasks before me. I just laid there, with my eyes closed, and poured out my heart to God. I am pretty sure I dreamed, but no nightmares! You see, I have night terrors! I have had them since I was a little girl. I can vividly remember the first one. It was Frankenstein, standing next to my bed, but he had his two front teeth missing! When I was in my 30’s the doctor ordered a sleep study. The study showed that I come out of REM sleep to quickly, causing the hallucinations.  They are often linked to stress or anxiety. They seem to come and go. I can go for a year and not have a nightmare, and then get hit with a string of them.

That is how the past couple weeks have been for me. I have had three nightmares in the past two weeks. A couple nights ago, I sat straight up in bed, clapped my hands sharply, and yelled at a bear. Yes! I yelled at a bear! I was seeing bears coming out of the picture that hangs on the bedroom wall. Of course, I thought clapping my hands sharply at them, with rebuke, would send them away. My blessed husband just laughs to himself, watches to see what I will do, and then goes back to sleep.

Last night, as I was drifting off, I decided to just pour out my weariness to the Lord. I have such concerns and responsibilities burdening me right now. My heart was so heavy. As I drifted off, I just talked to God and asked him for his help. Psalm 9:10, “For you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 46:1-3, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”

So, my question to you this day…do you pray? And when you pray, do you expect an answer? I was telling some friends about a prayer I prayed a few years ago. My husband and I were on a cruise to Alaska for our 25^th wedding anniversary. We had been through several very difficult years with a rebellious teenage daughter and had finally come out on the other side. This trip was the first time in years, we’d been able to get away. We were on a whale watching tour in Juneau Alaska and I was standing at the rear of the boat, not wanting to miss a single second of the experience. I remember closing my eyes and praying, “Lord, please let me see a whale.” Well, God heard my prayer and I believe with all my heart, he gave me that day to let me know that he sees me, and he loves me! A few minutes after I prayed that prayer, we saw the two rarest moments, that you NEVER see with Humpback whales. The pod, all came up together in what is called “bubble net feeding” grabbing a school of fish they had pushed up from underneath. Then a few minutes later, one of the whales breached! I was at the railing, screaming! I was so excited!

My friends, please remember that God sees you! He hears you! And whether your prayer is a simple prayer to see a whale, or a large prayer, to take a heavy burden from your heart, the Lord God, knows! Jeremiah 29:12-13, “Then you will call on me an come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.“