Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

The end of the day has finally come.  Work has ceased or stacked up, waiting for tomorrow.

But then, we wonder why we can't get to sleep -- or wake up in the night as if an incessant alarm arouses us.  Our problem is getting into bed without closing out the day.  

Our thoughts still racing down the interstate highway.  And we realize that we have come to bed fully clothed, hiking boots tied on tight, carrying our cares in an enormous backpack with us.  And there is not any space in bed or for our hearts to rest at all.   Like loud preschoolers, Anxiety and her annoying brother Worry clamor around the edges of our mattress, looking for us to stir. "She's awake!" they shout, and climb into bed with us.

We obviously haven't gotten ready for bed.  We've brought everything with us.  Not much room for sleep.

We need to lay all these things down first. And of course, no better place than at the feet of Jesus.

At night, as a little girl, I remember saying nightly prayers.  Yes, it was a habit, often accompanied by a little Sunday School song.  But praying that way established a pattern for sleep and verbally recognized the Almighty with me, as if He were sitting silently by my little bed.  My grandmother and I knelt on the floor, prayed our little prayers, and I slipped into bed as she slipped out of the room, covered by His protection and peace.  It then was so easy to trust Him when I could hear mom and dad and my grandmother still moving around downstairs.  And is it not still easy to trust Him, knowing that He is still moving and working and singing over us?

We can sleep because God does not.  He is on watch.  Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  Psalm 121. 4

Do we slip off to bed without even saying goodnight to God?  Have we left Him waiting, after seeking His help all the day?  Did we even say thank You?  It was a hard day, or a great day, but He was with us.  And at night, He still is.

As a very little girl, I was terrified by a very real lion crouching under my bed, a furry epitome of fear.  That ferocious beast was ready to pounce at my slightest movement.  

But what if I had thought instead of another powerful lion -- the Lion of Judah-- right there awake and protecting me?  And that would be Jesus, strong and kind.

In its nightly compline, first published in 1549, The Book of Common Prayer gives us a refreshing vocabulary to recite and repeat:  Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

And God says to us, "All you have to do is ask. I'm already here." 

When I wake in the night, it is often the things undone that hover over me.  Not that I haven't done enough, but perhaps instead, not come before God with this chaos, or awkward burdens, or --gasp-- wrongdoing.  

Things I needed to talk out with God in the daylight often come knocking at night.

In peace I will both lie down and sleep;

for You alone, O LORD,

make me dwell in safety.  

                             Psalm 4.8

It is a peace that only God can provide, both within and without.

So it is not just that I will rest and sleep, not just be blessed physically, but refreshed and strengthened spiritually to be a blessing to others, bring something different into the new day, even in an old familiar situation, no matter what God unfolds in the course of the day.

I lay down and slept.  I woke again,

       for the LORD sustained me.

I will not be afraid of many thousands of people

    who have set themselves against me all around.

                              Psalm 3. 5-6

And sometimes it takes us praying it through, talking it out with God, to realize our fears are just imagined -- really big shadows that dissolve in the light.  Or how to approach and navigate them, even if they are real. "Do not be afraid.  I am with you."

This blog Nightlytea was originally named after the time when our two younger daughters were in high school.  After cross country practice, showers, supper, and homework, a little pocket of time would emerge, a gap between school subjects, or a need for a break.  We would wander into the kitchen, and over a cup of nightly tea, we would discuss the day, what was hard, what was good, and how we saw God redeem what often appeared as a series of unfortunate events.

What if we said good night to God?  What if we let Him tuck us in?  What would we say to Him at the closing of the day? How would praying impact our rest?  And how would that change how we approach tomorrow? 

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said,
"Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."

                       Genesis 28. 16