Asking God for a good night sleep, is this liturgically sound?

[Rachie]

I wonder if we can settle this ourseleves. I was going to my ask my rector to settle this up for me at church tomorrow. I will see though if we can answer this ourselves. I am sure I have done it in the past. Praying to God at night and asking I’m sure for a good night’s sleep. As I have thought about it though as time has gone on it is sounded not quite right to me. I have several conditions and sometimes i’m pretty sure I asked and never got a good sleep and just took it as that, you just have to shrug your shoulders. I have several conditions and i’m trying to manage them.

I check in every morning in pray and God is well aware that my sleeping has been poor. I have stopped now asking for God for a good night sleep. I think it is more sound to ask at night if that is when you pray as i’m sure we used to do as a family when I was a child for protection over night as we sleep. That is more sound to me than praying for a good night’s sleep. You cannot come before God as well and under the guise of asking for protection over night and in your heart really be wanting to ask God for a night sleep as God will know of course.

Now, my dad is saying it is sound to pray for a good night sleep and I don’t wish to anymore. I don't know what to think.

My dad said Psalm 4-8 is for asking for sleeping. I know psalms are for prayers but it doesn’t seem to me to be really asking for a good night sleep. I cannot make it out though.

Then he said Proverb 3-24 can be used for a good sleep at night. I have not known Proverbs to be a prayer myself. What do you think on this question.

“Proverbs 3:24 King James Version​

24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

Psalm 4:8​

King James Version​

8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

 

[Cryptid]

Asking God for a good night sleep. Is this liturgically sound?

Of course it is! Look in the Psalms.

"I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me." -- Psalm 3:5

"In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety." -- Psalm 4:8

"In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat -- for He grants sleep to those He loves." -- Psalm 127:2

Sure, the Psalmist did not ask for a good night's sleep, but laid down in confidence that G^D would grant him sleep, sustain him, and keep him safe.

 

[Rachie]

Of course it is! Look in the Psalms.

"I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me." -- Psalm 3:5

"In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety." -- Psalm 4:8

"In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat -- for He grants sleep to those He loves." -- Psalm 127:2

Sure, the Psalmist did not ask for a good night's sleep, but laid down in confidence that G^D would grant him sleep, sustain him, and keep him safe.

Thank you so much. I can say this with confidence with now. This is so helpful for me.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Cry out to the Lord. Jesus was afraid in the night.

It is no sin to be afraid.

I have only gotten maybe 20 minutes to an hour of sleep this night. And now it's just about five a.m. I want to sleep, I'm exhausted. But I'm afraid. And when I'm afraid I cannot sleep.

Fear is not a sin.

The Lord knows your heart. Pray about the true things that are on your heart.

 

[Neia]

We are actually told to pray about EVERYTHING!

Some times God's response to our prayer will be no.

As a sound pastor once said, it's more important to God that we grow in sanctification, than that we are comfortable and happy. Speaking here of happiness as the world defines it.

We should ask Him for a good night of sleep, and He might say no. In that case, spending a few hours praying and/or reading the Bible will be very good for us.

I've had hat experience and, more importantly, God has left us Psalms that speak of this.

 

[Alexej]

From the office of Compline in the Anglican Tradition

Before the ending of the day,
Creator of the world, we pray
That you, with steadfast love, would keep
Your watch around us while we sleep.

From evil dreams defend our sight,
From fears and terrors of the night;
Tread underfoot our deadly foe
That we no sinful thought may know.

O Father, that we ask be done
Through Jesus Christ, your only Son;
And Holy Spirit, by whose breath
Our souls are raised to life from death.


and also
The Lord almighty grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
All Amen.

Our help is in the name of the Lord
All who made heaven and earth.

 

[Rachie]

Oh wow the thread responses are perfection. All of them and Yehuasdaughter I really hope you get some sleep soon. You have family responsiblites as well to perform through with tiredness. I grumble about a few hours sometimes.

Neia and Alexj thank you. I attend an Anglican church as well even though I am non demontional. So this completion and perfection for me hearing what they think as well.

 

[Mary Terry]

The traditional child's bedtime prayer that I grew up with and taught to my children:

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
If I should die before I wake
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
Amen

There are numerous variations on it. Here's another one:

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
May the angels watch me through the night
And keep me in their blessed sight.
Amen

 

[lunarious]

Asking God for a good night sleep, is this liturgically sound?​

I might not get a Positive answer if i ask for good night sleep. But it is always good to ask God as one True God. In the past I heard God likes to hear his servant voice.

So he might not give you a Positive answer just to hear you supplicate. And bonding.

In Islam we say a Believer is always happy. If God decrees pleasure for him he/she is thankful. If God decrees Hardship, he is also thankful for that (as it makes him/her stronger).

PS: I have yet to learn what liturgical means

 

[Rachie]

Tonight I will be asking God to support me with my sleep as well.
I have some issues to, I am diagnosed with Anorexia, perhaps my body may want to get up for food. The Minnesota starvation study men were craving food in erratic patterns. Medically I have been quite really poorly with that for a year.
I have CKD and neurological issues as well. I also have had known heart issues but my last scan awaits me so I don't know where I am with that. I also have Autism and Autstics generally can be quite poor sleepers. It has been a while since I have had a blood test to. There are more issues.

I take sleep medication as well and my sleep is all over the place.
In this picture you may see my situation where I was coming from about asking God to forgo all that for a good night sleep.

 

[Rachie]

PS: I have yet to learn what liturgical means

Lunarious Luturgical means word of God, scripture which would be as a Christian Bible based.
......
Moving on I linked this post to my rector last night. That was the first time I have ever done this to a post online on a website.
I have come to the conclusion that is luturgically sound to ask God to support you to sleep.
However, I have co-morbidites which make this more difficult.
I just thanked God last night for a superb day at night. I will let my rector weigh in on this.
My sleeping was all over the place last night and I slept at 10-11pm and was up about 2am and got busy with things around my flat.
I will see what my rector has to say given my co-morbidities and health conditions which they know about as well. I found myself in the kitchen at 10pm, I had some sleep though and I am not grumbling about that.

 

[Rachie]

My rector at my Anglican church came on and exceptionally read my thread and pretty much was in agreement with you all and mentioned you that you all gave good advice. They though had an additional note for my comorbidites as well.

 

[Alexej]

They though had an additional note for my comorbidites as well.

Just a tiny point - I, personally, dislike the word comorbidities, and prefer co-occuring.

 

[Rachie]

Just a tiny point - I, personally, dislike the word comorbidities, and prefer co-occuring.

Thank you, I had not heard of co-occuring before. From my background with the eating disorder services they tend to use comorbodites and that is where I picked it up from I think.

 

[jsilver256]

I have little to add to this thread, but want to share with you Romans 5:3-5.

God does not promise to spare us from suffering; the opposite.

But God does promise that the suffering will not be in vain. Philippians 1:6.

And our sights should be set on the life beyond - Hebrews 11.

Hope you get the relief you are seeking, Rachie.

 

[Alexej]

Thank you, I had not heard of co-occuring before. From my background with the eating disorder services they tend to use comorbodites and that is where I picked it up from I think.

Co-morbidities is the correct technical (medical) term - but its just morbid IMHO.
I prefer the less "loaded" term co-occuring

 

[Rachie]

I have little to add to this thread, but want to share with you Romans 5:3-5.

God does not promise to spare us from suffering; the opposite.

But God does promise that the suffering will not be in vain. Philippians 1:6.

And our sights should be set on the life beyond - Hebrews 11.

Hope you get the relief you are seeking, Rachie.

Thank you.

I know you have written about that you have had Anorexia in the past. You know what if I told my consultant in eating disorders I wanted a "good" night sleep they probably would think I have lost the mental plot. Insomnia is common in anorexia. I'm not a scientist but I think that the body has got like an in built alarm that will get it up to go and hunt and search for food. Sometimes although religion is an interest of mine I feel that my comorbodites co occuring conditions make me a bit of an outliner and it is not something that you want anyone to experience, but you sometimes wish to be understood a bit. I have a chronic eating disorder which is extremely severe medically and have needed different forms of treatment for decades and i'm living with it now. It didn't resolve on its own without treatment. I like to get away from the topic of my eating disorder a bit on here in the main and focus on my autism and sometimes wonder if I am just autistic and have my sensory issues and it has seemed like a special interest at times. I have to be true to myself though and have hints of nervosa as well as I will check my weight to ease anxiety, but so do many people lol. I have the body distortions to an extent as well. It used to be worse at a younger age. This is the condition I have had to avoid being heavy in numbers as it has been so bad in the past. I don't get on really with anorexia topics and have outgrown a lot of it but sometimes you seek to be understood.

I went to church yesterday. I had some water blessed for my sleeping after the service and I feel a bit odd doing it at times because it's not its tradition but they will do it exceptionally and it is not something I want to rely on.

Today I'm in a bit of a disturbed state to say the least. I took quite a few sleeping aids and you know I woke up in the night at 12pm not even knowing what I was doing see the alarm system. I was drinking lots of fluid and not knowing what I was doing with food. Not much it seems but it has shaken me up a bit. I went into my kitchen to find the gas on and drinks out and gasped in a bit of a shock. Not being able to give full account of myself to God for my mind and the expectation to sleep well. God can help me to actually get to bed at a decent hour and still support me with sleeping but it would be I won't say out there if I was to expect a good eight hours, but sometimes it can happen to me. I cannot number how many medical conditions I have which most are caused by my ed. It is God who designed the body with this waking system to hunt for food to fight for its set point and survival.

 

[jsilver256]

I like to get away from the topic of my eating disorder a bit on here in the main and focus on my autism and sometimes wonder if I am just autistic and have my sensory issues and it has seemed like a special interest at times. I have to be true to myself though and have hints of nervosa as well as I will check my weight to ease anxiety, but so do many people lol. I have the body distortions to an extent as well. It used to be worse at a younger age. This is the condition I have had to avoid being heavy in numbers as it has been so bad in the past. I don't get on really with anorexia topics and have outgrown a lot of it but sometimes you seek to be understood.

Haven't had anorexia, but that does sound awful.

IIRC, autism and eating disorders have a lot of overlap. This is nowhere near as severe as what you had, but I used to ask my husband all the time "did I gain weight" and he'd say no and I'd call him a liar because I clearly felt clothes being tighter.

But really it turned out that I was just clothing/touch averse and some days are worse than others.

Learning of the autism diagnosis and switching clothing pretty much eliminated any body image issues I had (which weren't that bad). No idea if that is an useful idea to you. But maybe the triggers for your EDs, could actually also be sensory triggers.

I will pray for your continued recovery. That sounds like a hard burden to bear.

God can help me to actually get to bed at a decent hour and still support me with sleeping but it would be I won't say out there if I was to expect a good eight hours, but sometimes it can happen to me

I will pray for your sleep as well. That does sound like a lot of fatigue.

My experience with sleep aids has been that less is more. I have paradoxical reactions to Benadryl, melatonin, and a lot of other aids. I find 1/4 doses are better than full doses for getting good night's sleep.

 

[Rachie]

jsilver256 thank you. For my everday wear I live in Addidas bottoms and hoodies these days loose clothing as was in my video for church. The actual footage inside the church was in 2020 when I was in a better place. To give some perspective right now I don't even weigh 5 stones 32kg. I won't go into more than that, but you may understand the call of my body for food to survive. Anything my body grabs in this above state people would clap for. I am below this today.

Growing up I really didn't like wearing dresses but have worn jeans especially as an inpatient. I don't like to look even at my body and I avoid mirrors these days and going under 5 stones it became too much for me and beyond it. I am still looking at the interplay of sensory and autism. I will likely link this post to as well a consulant who has an interest in the overlap of eating disorders and autism. They have a lot of research going on now and a big one is the Peace pathway.

I am so medicated you would think I would be knocked out. I think my nerves were still recovering from my shock and lack of grounding when I had a traumatic religious event which I wrote about in another post. My body clock after going to Africa with my mum in 2014 has never seemed to recover as I used to sleep without sleeping aids, but they use these them a lot in inpatient. I will tell you what I use. For four days my GP prescribed me dizapem as she was concerned with pressure of speech. Also I take 3.75g Zopiclone which my GP has upped to 7.5g which I have yet to collect. I have an diagnosed allergy but use Chlorpenemaine at night and a side effect is supposed to be rest. I also take Queitipine for repetive thinking to try and help control it 50mg which is meant to induce rest. All of this and sleep still can escape me well.
God surely can though help support me with me with my sleep. I arrived at not praying after praying for it and not often getting it and wondering and about own unique situation medically and with co's as well.

 

[Rachie]

This really started for me when I was visited by my dad and given advice which was really for the general population, but it managed to confuse me. I spoke to my mum yesterday in my very special words, mum isn't it insanity to pray to God and someone may not eat enough and expect to get a good night sleep, yes mum said. Sometimes I love her honesty. Me and my dad had a bit of a discussion yesterday to say the least. I don't know why he said that to me when he knows my situation very well, but gave me the note of caution as well yesterday evening. Make sure you eat enough etc before bed so you can sleep better. Last night I just did the sign of the cross with the water for protection and drank a bit and said God can use it for whatever he wants even if not sleep, all my trust is with God.

I think my medication is too much and even me I didn't take the diazepam until I woke in the night. I think it is affecting what I do in the kitchen as well. Today was no sense it was thrashed the place and I was alarmed things all over the floor and a clean up I had. I didn't see any plates really so whatever I was doing I have absolutely no idea. I think two things are going on but I am at a loss with it and reached out to Jesus about my despair with it.
I'm going to move on now. Thank you all for your support.
My nerves was very bad all day long yesterday because of the night goings on.