“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep.”
—Psalm 127:2 ESV

Have you ever laid down to receive a well-needed time of rest and restoration but found that as you closed your eyes, your mind and spirit were not in agreement with your weary body? Though you were positioned for sleep, your mind was racing and your spirit was anxious and agitated. When I was a young adolescent, I often experienced this at night. Yet through the years, the Lord revealed that He is the answer to this and every problem. If you have trouble sleeping, I encourage you to stop wrestling with your flesh and begin warring in the Spirit against the enemy that is tormenting you. Remember, we do not wrestle with flesh and blood but against evil spirits and principalities (Eph. 6:12). As a young adolescent, I began reciting the Lord’s Prayer to myself when I laid down to rest. I would repeat it over and over until peace came over my body. Eventually, I would fall into a deep sleep. This still helps me, but I have discovered additional methods of entering into God’s rest at night.

Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed with anxiety, I simply say, “The blood of Jesus.” I keep repeating these words until the darkness and anxiety dissipate. As light and hope come in, I declare God’s Word over my life. Jesus’s blood and Word are powerful! Trials, tribulations, and human imperfections brought to the Lord in repentance are transformed under the blood of Jesus. All guilt, shame, and condemnation are removed, and Father’s love and hope release our hearts and minds into rest.

Finally, beloved, envision yourself giving the wheel of your life to God! He can be trusted to go before you and transform every situation for His glory, but you must release your challenges to the Lord. Let Him fix things His way. If Jesus slept through storms (Matt. 8:24–26), we can sleep through the storms of life too! May these principles help you bring Father’s love and peace into your body and soul as you lay down to rest tonight!

Father, thank You for the gift of sleep. I call for Your angels and presence to fill my bedroom when I lay down to rest. Equip me to release my cares and worries to You through the powerful name and blood of Yeshua. As Your redeemed child, I receive Your perfect shalom beyond all circumstances, and I rest peacefully while You reign over my life.

Cynthia Schneider, From Passover to Pentecost (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2021), Used by permission.