Rosales Recommendations Subscribe

Faith by Fire: Season 1

Why does God wake you up in the middle of the night?

April 26, 2026 · 3 min

Comment Watch on YouTube

Why does God wake you up in the middle of the night?

📖 Scripture:
• The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:3-11)
• Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)
• Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:40-41)
• Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. (Acts 12:7)
• 3 Elijah was afraid[a] and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. (1 Kings 19:3-9)
• 14 For God does speak, now one way, now another, though no one perceives it. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, 16 he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, 17 to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride, 18 to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword. (Job 33:14-18)
• For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)

🎬 Best All-Inclusive YouTube Course I've Ever Taken:
📲 Best YouTube Shorts Course I've Ever Taken:
🎬 Recorded & Edited with Descript: (🔗Affiliate Link)
📊 VidIQ (Helps You Grow on YouTube): https://vidiq.com/Recommendation (🔗Affiliate Link)

⭐ Subscribe to join us on the road to 100,000 subscribers and learn what's working, not working, & what you can try next on YouTube.

🔗 DISCLAIMER: This is our recommendation based on researching and trying to find the best solution. If you happen to click and purchase something through the link, it doesn’t cost you any extra. The provider may give us a small commission as an affiliate from qualifying purchases. But just so you know, since the start of 2021, we have been giving 90% of any profit we personally receive through the links on this channel to our church: https://www.youtube.com/@elevationchurch

The weekly email

Fruitful

Every Faith by Fire episode from the week, in one email on Saturday morning.

Free. One email every Saturday. Unsubscribe anytime.

More like this

One tap and you're on the journey with us.

Subscribe, it's free
Read the transcript

Auto-generated transcript. It may contain mistakes.

Why does God wake you up in the middle of the night? This morning I randomly woke up at 3:23 a.m. and had this feeling that it was God waking me up. So, I grabbed my phone, unplug it, and the next thing I remember is this vibration on my chest. I fallen asleep again, but it reminded me of the story in the Bible where this boy named Samuel is sleeping and God says, "Samuel, Samuel." to wake him up and he says, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." And then God shared something special with him. So, I said, "Okay, God, I get it. What do you want me to do?" And I felt like I heard in my head, "Get up and pray." And this verse came to mind. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, went off to a solitary place where he prayed. And I wish that would have been enough to get me up, but a few moments later my wife accidentally nudged me in bed, making me realize I had fallen back asleep again. And I was like, "Come on, Justin, get out of bed. Go spend time with God." But I was so tired. And what I was feeling reminded me of the time when Jesus took his closest disciples to spend time with him while he prayed and they just fell asleep. And Jesus comes to them and says, "Couldn't you men keep watch with me for 1 hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." I was willing to get up, but I was just so tired. But then I was reminded of the time that God sent an angel to hit Peter to wake him up. Peter's in prison, locked up and handcuffed. And the Bible says, "Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shown in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. Quick, get up," he said, "and the chains fell off Peter's wrist." It made me think, "Maybe God's trying to set one of us free from something." So, I finally came downstairs and started praying in my normal spot. I fell asleep again, but then I woke up when I heard a sound behind me. Probably the house creaking. I didn't look, but honestly I was a little afraid cuz I got this visual about someone standing behind me. So, I kept just saying, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." and praying. And then God reminded me of a time when a man of God named Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. Tired and exhausted, he laid down under a bush and fell asleep. But then, all at once, an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." And then the angel provided for him and took care of him. So, then I thought, "Okay, maybe God wakes people up in the middle of the night because he wants to spend time with them in prayer or he wants to set them free like Peter or he wants to care for them like Elijah." But then God led me to one more passage that I have never read before. For God does speak now one way, now another, though no one perceives it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings. And I thought, "Terrify sounds weird when it's associated with God." But then I looked up the original Hebrew and it means to seal or confirm. So, let's read it again. He may speak in their ears and confirm for them or seal with warnings to turn them from wrongdoing, keep them from their pride, and to preserve them. Now, I don't know the answer, but I do know that the mission of Jesus was to seek and to save the lost. And after reading other times where God woke people up in the middle of the night to set them free, to care for them, to spend time with them, or even to help redirect them like we just read, I feel confident that if we feel like God is trying to wake us up in the middle of the night, that there is a reason and a really good one. And I'm praying that the next time we feel that, we can respond to it. Let us know we'll be praying for each other today, friends. God bless.