When "shuteye" won't come, close your eyes in prayer

It's not out of the ordinary for me to wake up in the middle of the night because of a hungry tummy.

Tonight (err..morning) is one of those times.

It's 3:30 a.m., and I'm wide awake. I just had a granola bar and some peanut butter, so now that my tummy has been tamed, I feel like writing...

I learned a few days ago that the youth group my brother and sister are in recently did the 30-hour famine. According to the Web site (which I highly recommend checking out), the famine is an "international youth movement to fight hunger."

How it works is you ask people to sponsor you--raising money for World Vision--and then go 30 hours without eating a thing. It puts you in the perspective of the millions of people who go hungry every day.

I remember when I did it. During the experience, we went to a homeless shelter and served lunch. It was my job to dish out the apple crisp (one of my favorite foods, mind you) during (approximately) hour number 25 of not eating. That was some serious temptation staring me in the face! I was craving that apple crisp like you wouldn't believe. But I did not eat it.

Going that long without eating was so hard for me. I eat constantly. When I'm hungry--whether that be at 3 p.m., 3 a.m. or any time between--I can just go the kitchen or the store or the restaurant and get something to eat.

So many people in this world do not have that luxury.

I think about that a lot. A whole lot. While I don't have to lay awake hungry, there are people at this very moment who don't have any other option. That is so sad.

I want to do something about it. I appreciate the efforts of the 30-hour famine event. I definitely recommend participating because it will make you more aware of the suffering that people endure on a daily basis.

Not only that, but it makes you realize what a blessing it is that you have your own basic needs met.
I never want to take that for granted!

I heard somewhere that if you can't sleep, it's God's way of telling you to pray for someone.

So please join me right now in praying for the people around the world who will struggle with sleep tonight--and also struggle to function during the day--because of extreme hunger.

Lord, thank you for the luxury of eating when I want. Forgive me for eating too much, when there are people everywhere who consistently don't get enough to eat. I want to care for them as You do. Amen.