March 19 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

"While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' " —Acts 7:59

The last words Jesus uttered are similar to a prayer some children still pray when they go to bed: "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep."

The cross—what a deathbed! What a strange place to say goodnight. Yet it is the only place where we can learn how to die.

Jesus is our teacher in all areas and at all times. He has showed us how to live; he will teach us how to die. When we have learned how to live, we must not be afraid that we won't know how to die. The Teacher will be there.

Ever since Jesus' death, the dying of Christians has been called "fall­ing asleep." Even the violent death of Stephen, when the rocks cracked his skull, is called "falling asleep" (Acts 7:60).

A Christian surgeon returned to the Lord through the prayer of a child. Six-year-old Johnny was very ill, but he didn't know it. The doctor and the nurse came to get him in a desperate attempt to save his life by surgery. They wheeled his bed from the children's ward to the operating room. The doctor was very fond of the boy. "Now I am going to give you a prick in your arm, and then you are going to sleep," he said.

"Am I going to sleep?" asked Johnny.

"Yes, you are."

"But then I must first say my prayer."

The little boy worked himself up on his knees, closed his eyes, and folded his hands. While God, the doctor, and the nurses listened, he prayed, "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep."

Johnny never woke up. He really did "fall asleep." But that night the doctor whispered: "Father, into your hands I commit my life."

REFLECTIONS

What is your only comfort in life and in death?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.