How are your sleep habits? Do you go to bed at a certain time and get up at a certain time? Or do you allow events, people, deadlines, or other circumstances to dictate your sleep schedule? We can put a lot of effort into making sure our time with God is protected (or at least have the best intentions to protect it), but how often do we think about protecting our sleep time as well? God invented sleep so we could experience rest, refreshment, and recovery; He can also speak to us through dreams. A healthy amount of sleep is a good thing, and we're created with a need for it. So why do we sometimes neglect it?

One reason might be that we feel there just aren't enough hours in the day to fit in everything we want or need to do, so we carve into our sleep time. But since sleep is designed by God, He wouldn't want us to take on so much that we can't get the rest we need. So we need to ask Him to show us ways to be more efficient, or direct us to prioritise and drop some things. His solution might be to put people in our lives who we can delegate tasks to. Another reason for lacking sleep might be stress and worry. David said, ‘I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety’ (Psalm 4:8 NKJV). It’s hard to sleep when our thoughts can't 'switch off', so we need to tell God about our worries, and let Him take care of them. He'll help us find peace.

What Now?

Is there a chapter of the Bible that you find particularly calming and peace-giving? Try reading it before you go to sleep, so your mind is filled with God’s soothing words as you drift off.