For much of my life I have taken for granted the heavenly bodies and paid them little attention– too tired and too busy to notice them. Oh, I have often enjoyed a glorious sunrise and sunset, but I never really admired the moon or spent time stargazing.

With age, however, I have begun to really notice these dimensions of God’s wonderful creation. This summer particularly I have enjoyed climbing in our “redneck pontoon”—we call it that because we removed the seats several years ago and replaced them with lounge chairs–and riding on the lake with my son Jeff and his wife Stephanie just before sunset. After a day of back breaking work remodeling my basement, it has been a good way to relax and unwind before a warm shower and a good night’s sleep.

During that peaceful time with no one around but us, we have admired the Lord’s creation and rested in it in new ways.

The scriptures tell us that “God said, ‘Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.’ And that is what happened. God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.  And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.” Genesis 1:14-19 (NLT)

It’s interesting to me that after a day of creation, the Lord admired his work and then rested. What a wonderful example for us, his masterpieces created in his image!

When I was a child, I attended youth camp at Ridgecrest. One of my fondest memories is of sitting outside in the early morning for prayer and then returning to that spot for what was called vespers. I have since learned that vespers is simply a time of evening prayers in many denominations. What a wonderful way to end the day—sitting with the Lord and reflecting on the day’s activities and accomplishments—or confessing our failures.

Interestingly, the scriptures tell us that the Lord looked for Adam and Eve in the early evening. (Genesis 3) Apparently this was a time of special communion for them. Sadly, they disobeyed and were banished from the garden, but centuries later the psalmist still reveled in evening times with the Lord (Psalm 1, 8, 17, 19, 30, 42, 63).

Out of curiosity, I checked the Internet for ideas for vespers. Pinterest and other sights have some wonderful ideas as springboards to enjoying the quiet of evening with the Lord–ideas like breath prayers, writing your own psalms, prayer journals, and other creative suggestions. Really, though, enjoying vespers is just a matter of settling down and taking time to walk with God, commune with him, and talk with him–our Father, Savior, Wise Counselor.

I have long been an early riser who enjoys spending time with the Lord in the early mornings—studying his word, getting my marching orders for the day, meditating quietly on the beauty of his creation; but I am discovering that this quiet time at evening is indeed special. I think I am going to begin a new practice: evening devotions—vespers–really spending time with the Lord more than a cursory prayer or a quickly read Bible verse.

It seems that the Lord is nudging me to begin this new practice as I continue to learn to “be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

What about you? Do you practice a time of vespers? I’d love to hear about it!

P.S. There’s a blood moon tonight. I don’t think we can see it from our location in North America, but I’m going to be looking for it! Isn’t God’s creation amazing!