Itâs 3 a.m. at an acute-care hospital. A worried patient presses the call button for the fourth time in an hour. The night-shift nurse answers without complaint. Soon another patient is screaming, crying for attention. The nurse isnât surprised. She requested the night shift five years ago to avoid her hospitalâs daytime frenzy. Then the reality hit. Night work often meant taking on extra tasks, such as lifting and turning patients by herself. It also meant closely monitoring patientsâ conditions so physicians could be notified in emergencies.
Buoyed by close friendships with her nighttime co-workers, this nurse still struggles to get adequate sleep. Often, she asks her church for prayer, seeing her work as vital. âPraise God, their prayers make a difference.â
Her praise is good and right for a night workerâas well as for all of us. The psalmist wrote, âPraise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who minister by night in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lordâ (Psalm 134:1â2).
This psalm, written for the Levites who served as temple watchmen, acknowledged their vital workâprotecting the temple by day and night. In our nonstop world, it feels proper to share this psalm especially for nighttime workers, yet every one of us can praise God in the night. As the psalm adds, âMay the Lord bless you from Zion, he who is the Maker of heaven and earthâ (v. 3).
