At least once a week I come across an interesting article on tips for getting to sleep and staying asleep. Typically, the advice is the same: beds are for sleeping and sex, turn off all technology at least an hour before bed, don’t eat before lying down and, my favorite, don’t allow pets to sleep with you. Tell that to my cat and the two large dogs who take up most of the room in my king-sized bed!
I have no problem getting to sleep; I never had a problem getting to sleep. But since I became a mother, I find I sleep lighter in case I need to arise in the night. When Johanna was born 18 years ago, my mom radar tuned on even more, as nighttime neurological issues can be life-threatening. It seems like I figured out just the right amount of supplements, exercise, water, and routines to help me sleep more soundly, but then hormonal changes messed up my body again! I still get to sleep easily and quickly but oftentimes I am wide-awake around 3 a.m. Sometimes it’s frustrating. I, however, have found that 3 a.m. is a great time to pray; I can hear God speak to me a little more clearly at 3 a.m. My mom used to say that she got the best inspirations in the middle of the night. I have to agree with her, and Psalm 127:2: “God visits His beloved in sleep.”
In fact, there are many biblical references to sleep that shed some light on slumber. I used to pray Psalm 4:8 over my children when they couldn’t get to sleep: “as soon as I lie down I fall peacefully asleep because the Lord makes my dwelling secure.”
Sleep is also used as a negative image in scripture for being spiritually dead, as in some cases where Jesus was in prayer and the disciples fell asleep. (Luke 9:28-36) A real strong admonition against too much sleep is this one from Proverbs 6:9: “How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?” (I like to use that one when I’m waking my husband up in the morning.) In that same scripture from Luke 9, the disciples found a great gift in waking up: “When they were fully awake, the disciples saw His glory.” (Luke 9:32) There are many beautiful examples of Jesus awakening those who were sleeping in death, like Lazarus, (Jn.11:1-43) and a little girl (Mark 5:35-43). Both were restored to the fullness of life, much to the joy and amazement of family and friends.
One of my favorite psalms that speaks of God and sleep is Psalm 121. It is titled:
Assurance of God’s Protection
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From whence does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved,
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not smite you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and for evermore.
Recently, I was reminded of this psalm when one of my friends, who lives in Israel, posted on Facebook about a bombing that rocked his home in the middle of the night. This beautiful family, a young married couple with two little children, courageously moved from the United States back home to Israel to be closer to family and raise their children immersed in Jewish faith and culture. When they post the realities of what they go through, I am in awe of their composure and their faith. This time, as I read about this scare in the midst of their slumber, Psalm 121 immediately came to mind. I copied it into the comment section of the post and within minutes my friend thanked me as he explained that this is a very popular and powerful psalm set to music. He then sent me the link to Psalm 121 sung in Hebrew. It brought the truth of this psalm alive for me in a much deeper way. I realized that the worries that keep me from sleeping are far from those of my friends who sleep under the threat of bombs going off in the middle of the night. If they can recite Psalm 121 in faith and trust that God’s in control even in the face of such attacks, how much more can I believe that the Lord watches over me while I am awake and asleep?
My dad had a unique way of dealing with the cares and concerns of the day that threatened to keep him awake at night. On top of our refrigerator, he kept a “God jar.” On the outside it had this inscription: “Lord, help me to remember that nothing is going to happen today that you and I can’t handle.” On the inside, he put prayer petitions. It was dad’s way of handing things over to the Lord and I guess it helped him go to sleep.
I do something similar and recently, I have made it my nightly routine. In my prayer corner, I have the chalice and the plate that was specially made and engraved for my husband and I to use for the Mass at our wedding. It held the body and blood of Jesus during our solemn celebration and continues to serve as a reminder that our marriage is a covenant not only between the two of us, but also between us and the Lord.
Now, before I go to bed, I take a moment to place all my concerns and imagine them in that cup as I pray Psalm 121. It doesn’t mean that I won’t be waking up at 3 a.m. in a hormonal sweat or to care for daughter’s nighttime needs. But this little evening routine reminds me that God doesn’t sleep and He’s literally got the whole world – from my friends in Israel, to all my cares in Jamesport – in His hands. I can sleep better knowing that the Lord’s got my back and He even visits His beloved in sleep.
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Eileen Benthal is a writer, speaker and wellness coach with a B.A. in Theology from Franciscan University. She and her husband Steve live in Jamesport and have four young adult children. Their youngest, Johanna, is a teenager with special needs. Eileen can be reached at FreeIndeedFreelance.com.
