Spiritual Athlete

This morning's message by Mr. Ludy was so amazing, it left me so inspired that I went up to my room and did a couple of little leaps. 

He was talking about fighting against sleep. Basically, he said it was possible to actually resist the claims of tiredness from your body in order to fulfill Jesus's commands. I have never heard anybody say this before--but when we look to Jesus in faith and surrender our bodies to Him, He calls the shots. He is now our master. So tiredness from our body is not something we have to listen to any more. 

I went up to my room after the session to pray and try this out. At lunch time I'm always craving a nap. I had about an hour, and I started praying all pumped up and excited about this. I wanted to really wrestle in prayer for the entire hour. But it didn't quite work out. 

I started praying and ran out of things I could think of in about 5 minutes. It was noon. "God, you're going to have to help me here, because by myself, I'm not going to be able to do this," I said. I had been pacing energetically back and forth in the room, but now an overwhelming desire came over me to just sit down on the floor. I sat on the floor and I got a whole stream of prayer requests that kept me busy for what I was sure must have been about 30 minutes. I looked at my watch. 12:10 pm. Only 10 minutes had passed. 

10 minutes! Oh no! How will I ever survive at this rate? I must make it until at least 12:30! I asked God for his help again but I think I dozed off sitting there on the floor. I woke up and it was 12:20. "I give up," I thought to myself. "I'm getting into my bed." So I climbed up to my bunk and slept until 1:05, when the alarm rang and I had to get up to go to the next session. 

I was so disappointed in myself. Sleep overcame me and I didn't even fight it. If I had, things might have been different. But as it was, it was the first defeat I had experienced since coming here. 

It's amazing how sleep is the area that, for me, is the absolute hardest thing to overcome. The flesh stakes its claim there and will not let go. It will be SUCH a testimony to God's power and the life-changing opportunity that is in Christ if I can truly overcome this monster.

But at least for the first time in my life, I'm told it's possible, by someone who likes sleep at least as much as I do, who had to fight HARD to conquer it, and who actually overcame.