If you’re like me, you probably lay in bed with a screen shining in your eyes as your thumb flicks through news, pointless thirty second sketches (that are rarely funny), and disembodied hands cooking random meals you will never try to make at home.
Hopefully also, if you are like me, when the phone has slipped out of your dozing hands and smacked you in the nose for the fifth time, you will put it away and decide it’s finally time to close your eyes and go to sleep. Before you do, I hope you will whisper a prayer to God. If so, what will you say? There’s a lot going on, both in your life and in the world. There are blessings for which to give thanks. There are crises for which to solicit help. There are frustrations that make you just want to vent to Him.
There’s a lot to say, and while you should certainly say it all, maybe the time to pray about those things isn’t when you’re already cozy in bed and half-dozing off. Instead, if you just want a simple prayer to utter before you sleep away the night, try this…
In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
(Psalm 4:8, ESV)
Save the detailed prayers for your conversations with God that (are supposed to be happening) throughout the day. At night, when you drift off to sleep, and you find yourself vulnerable and unconscious, leave it all behind with a small comment to the Master. Express your trust in Him, your feeling of safety in His care, and your confidence that, whatever happens, you are His and will forever remain so.
To me, that sounds like a recipe for a peaceful night’s rest.
~Matthew