Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes and you will be satisfied with bread. Proverbs 20:13(AMPC)
It’s not that sleep is bad but when it’s done at the wrong time or overdone then it can be a hindrance. What the Scripture implies is we shouldn’t overly give ourselves to sleeping too much neither should we sleep at the wrong time.
Loving sleep or sleeping too much refers to among other things excessive laxity, carelessness, idleness, letting your guard down, and laziness. You can never get anything done or get anywhere if you’re given to those vices.
The last part of our theme Scripture says “open your eyes and you will be satisfied with bread.” Having our eyes opened means being on our guard, staying alert and clearheaded. 1 Thessalonians 5:6 (NLT) So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Sometimes in life, business, career, ministry or any other vocation, it’s important to stay alert “open your eyes” because some opportunities will come that require immediate action, someone who’s prepared and once you take advantage of those opportunities you will be filled “satisfied with bread”.
It is like believing God for a car but you don’t know how to drive; staying alert means you go and learn how to drive and obtain the driving license. Another person might believe in God to travel to the nations to do business or preach the word but they don’t even have a passport, stay alert by getting a passport first. Even a farmer who prays for raining without preparing the garden is not really convinced that their prayers will be answered.
When Jesus was about to go to the Cross He took His disciples to the garden Gethsemane to pray as a way of staying alert, on guard, clearheaded and prepared for the trial that lay ahead.
However the disciples just slept. “Why are you sleeping?” He asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.” Luke 22:46 (NLT)
While the disciples slept at a time when they ought to have prayed they ended up giving in to temptation but Jesus because He was alert and on guard in prayer He triumphed on the Cross. Therefore avoid negligence, being dull, letting your guard down, and slackness. Instead be watchful and clearheaded, thoughtful in your work, in prayer, in your relationships especially your fellowship with God.