I don’t think Jeremiah had very many quiet, restful nights of sleep during his days as a prophet. But in Jeremiah 31:26 he writes, “At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.” What does the “at this” refer to? Let me encourage you to read chapters 30-32 and note all of the times God says, “I will” do this or that.
God had disciplined His children because of their rebellion and sin. But He promises in these chapters that He would restore them and then make a covenant with them that He would indelibly write on their hearts. When the New Covenant is described in Hebrews 10:16 the writer is actually quoting Jeremiah 31:33.
What God was promising was so startlingly different from what Jeremiah had seen among the people it woke him up from his pleasant sleep. He was refreshed in body by the sleep, and his spirit was renewed, so he could offer this bold prayer of faith in Chapter 32:17-25. “Nothing is too hard for (God)…great are (His) purposes and mighty are (His) deeds.”
Jeremiah 33:3, encourages all of us to this kind of bold expectancy in prayer, when he quotes God saying, “Call unto me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
If you want to experience pleasant sleep, get to know God’s amazing promises. If you have a hard time praying with confidence base your prayers on God’s promises, that is, pray God’s promises back to Him.
