This is the title of the Sounds of Revival UK program currently hosted by Apostle Joshua Selman.
“While men slept…”
These words are not just poetic; they are deeply prophetic. They come from Matthew 13:25
“But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.”
It is a sobering reminder: when vigilance is low, when discernment is passive, spiritual transactions both divine and diabolical occur.
I used to say that Ibadan marked a significant turning point in my spiritual awareness. That city opened my eyes in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time. I stepped on juju and was paralyzed from my waist down.(story for another day). I love that city so much!
My house was situated at a T-junction, a location many consider spiritually active in African spiritual traditions. At night, particularly around midnight I began to observe unsettling patterns.
I heard whispers.
Heard chants.
Heard things shatter and break.
I heard humming like people engaged in ancient rituals.
In the stillness of the night, it was as though the realm of the spirit was louder than the physical.
And in the mornings? The evidences were terrifying:
Calabashes filled with unknown substances.
Local sponges. Bottles with inscriptions.
Feathers. Red cloths. Broken mirrors.
All at the junction, left behind like spiritual footprints.
Fear gripped me, but that fear became fuel for something greater: a deeper prayer life. I began to stay awake. I began to pray. I began to watch.
The Mystery of Midnight
These activities often happened between 11:00 PM and 1:00 AM. But not every night was loud, some nights were silent. Yet, patterns began to emerge. One in particular stood out:
The first day of each month.
It carried a weight I couldn’t explain. A kind of spiritual tension in the atmosphere. I didn’t know then what I now understand:
There is power in transitions.
When one day hands over to another, when one month gives way to the next, when one season is closing and another is opening something always happens.
And both heaven and hell are aware of it.
Some people scoff at midnight prayers. They say:
• “God is not subject to time.”
• “Midnight in Nigeria is afternoon elsewhere.”
Yes, God is not bound by time. But man is.
And because we are subject to time, God honors moments and seasons within it. That’s why He says:
“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”
(Ecclesiastes 3:1)
Even Jesus often prayed very early in the morning (Mark 1:35) or through the night (Luke 6:12). Time may not control God, but it matters in how He meets with man.
Why Transitions Matter
There is a spiritual law at work during transitions:
• When a day dies and another is born: watch.
• When a month ends and another begins:pray.
• When a year fades into a new one: stay awake.
Because gates open.
Because destinies are shaped.
Because enemies sow tares while men sleep.
In moments of transition, spiritual gates are often most accessible, both to God’s messengers and the enemy’s agents.
Transitions are thresholds, spiritual doorways where one reality ends and another begins.
Whenever I feel lost, disconnected from the clarity of God’s voice, I go back to either the beginning or the ending of something. A day. A season. A chapter.
And I find Him there.
Because that’s where He promised to be:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.”
(Revelation 22:13)
Alpha, Omega, Beginning, End
God is always present in every process of transition
He is at the start of all things.
And He is at their close.
The Sacred Power of New Beginnings
In every beginning, there is a spiritual renewal.
So, don’t sleep through your transitions.
Don’t be passive while the baton is being passed.
New grace.
New alignment.
New access.
And these resets are consistent across Scripture. The children of Israel began their journeys at appointed times. Sacrifices were often given at twilight or dawn. Jesus rose at dawn on the first day of the week, a transition into victory over death.
While men slept, things were sown.
But you, child of God, can stay awake.
You can sow in prayer.
You can legislate in the spirit.
You can rise in authority.
Conclusion: Don’t Miss the Gate
Every transition is a gate.
And gates are not just for passing through, they are for watching. They are for warring. They are for worshipping.
Don’t let the enemy out-watch you.
Don’t let darkness find you asleep at the gate of your destiny.
New mercies.
Midnight is not just a time on the clock, it is a gate in the spirit.
Stand guard. Pray. Align. Transition intentionally.
Because while men slept, something happened.
But while you watch, something greater will happen, and it will be divine.