Get some rest.

Psalm 4:8
I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Fear and anxiety keep a lot of people up at night. I guess that’s why we have so many drugs out there like Ambien and Lunesta: to help us forget about our problems for a while. But doping up and forgetting about them for a short term “rest” isn’t what God desires. It is God’s desire to take away our burdens and make our lives better.

This is why the best sleep aid available and known to man is prayer. That’s right, prayer. Fear and anxiety over that business meeting, big test, or job interview in the morning can plague your mind, keeping you from getting the rest that your body needs in order to succeed. This is what the Devil wants. He wants to keep you up, worrying about the “what ifs” of the next day. He wants you to have an unrestful night so that you’ll fail the next day. He wants you to wake up “ugly” because you tossed and turned all night long.

God’s perfect solution to the Devil’s strike is a conversation with Jesus. Prayer will help. I’m not talking about getting out of bed and going to your secret closet where you get on your face and ask God to supply you for the meeting. That’s an anxiety-laden prayer. That’s a work-oriented prayer. I’m talking about praying from your bed. Praying an eyes closed, lying with your head on the pillow, blanket over your body, rest centered prayer.

This is the kind of prayer Jesus wants to hear from you: the “come unto me, all you who are burdened” prayer. He wants you to tell Him what’s bothering you and why. He wants you to just talk it out. He wants you to tell Him your fears and anxieties; He doesn’t want you to try and hide them because you think they’re a sin. Jesus wants to take them from you and give you His perfect peace: shalom. He wants to give you sleep, security, protection, prosperity, and salvation.

The result of this type of prayer is this: deep, restful sleep. I know that every time I pray in bed because I’m anxious I sleep! This is the salvation work of Jesus Christ being brought right into the bedroom. I never know what time I fall asleep and I never get to say, “In Jesus’ name, amen.” At some point during my prayer Christ actually takes away whatever it was that was keeping me from sleeping and I sleep.

Jesus is glorified by taking your burdens and removing them from you. He is exalted by making you dwell in safety. He is blessed by blessing you and He loves it when you take Him up on His offer: “...I will give you rest.”(Matthew 11:28) Whatever your burden, whatever your need, whatever it is that is keeping you up at night, talk about it with Jesus and, without even trying, you’ll have the best night’s sleep of your life. Ambien and Lunesta can’t hold a candle to the Grace of Jesus Christ.