In a recent podcast episode of Conversations, John and Lisa Bevere delve into a mysterious phenomenon that many believers experience—waking up between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m.—and the spiritual significance of what this means. Known as the “fourth watch,” this early morning time frame may be more than just an inconvenient interruption to your sleep. According to the Beveres, it can be a strategic time when God is speaking.
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“I keep getting woke up around 4:30. I get up and everything’s quiet. My spirit is quiet, my mind is quiet, and it just seems so easy to hear from God,” John Bevere shares. Lisa echoes this sentiment, adding, “There’s actually a scripture in Job that says that God will speak to me in the night watches.”
The couple explains that in ancient times, the night was divided into four “watches.” The fourth watch—between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m.—was especially significant. “The Jews had three watches, the Romans had four watches… and the Jews adopted the Roman system,” John explains. He notes that this fourth watch is often mentioned in Scripture and is associated with divine activity.
Lisa recounts her own experience as a young mother yearning to hear God’s voice more clearly. “I offered God my most precious gift, which was sleep,” she recalls. “And I remember He woke me up during this watch… and the third night when it happened three times, I was like, ‘It’s God calling to me.’”
The Beveres point to Mark 1:35, where Jesus rises early in the morning to pray, and Proverbs 31, which describes a virtuous woman who rises while it’s still dark. Lisa says, “I always ask the Holy Spirit to wake me up…”
The early morning hours not only provide stillness but are also believed to be a time of heightened spiritual activity. The Beveres reference Genesis 32, where Jacob wrestles with an angel until daybreak. “This represents perseverance and destiny-altering prayer,” Lisa says. “He wrestles and he gets a new name… it’s about a name of destiny.”
Interestingly, this same time frame is also recognized by occult practitioners. “Witches and warlocks actually call it the witching hour,” John warns. But rather than be afraid, the Beveres urge believers to reclaim that time. “Anything that God does, the enemy twists… It’s not wrong for us to understand the timing because they have twisted it,” Lisa adds.
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Ultimately, the Beveres encourage Christians not to ignore these divine wake-up calls. These subtle moments just may be the times when God is asking you to go to the next level with Him in prayer, petition and intercession.
So next time you find yourself awake at 3:00 a.m., consider that it might be more than restlessness. It might be a destiny-changing appointment.
Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
I have been praying for a few years that the Holy Spirit would hover over sleeping young people 10-30 years old calling to them to wake up spiritually especially out of late night , early morning like He did with Samuel calling for them to wake up spiritually drawing them to respond to the call of God, to come and commune with Him. That they might know Him. Praying that when they realize that they have been lied to for years they would break into a revival like never before !!!