“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety”-Psalm 4:8

If feeling a bit restless when it is time to sleep:

repeat something to yourself that brings peace to you.

Try:

“I AM safe”

“God Loves me”

“I AM love”

“I AM peace”

A Bedtime Prayer: “Instrument of your Peace” by St. Francis of Assisi

One of my favorite prayers of all time:

Lord, make me an instrument of your Peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal light.

St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)

Bedtime prayers for depression and anxiety

From: Marianne Williamson’s Illuminata

Dear God,

Please make me a force for Good.

Remove from my awareness all thoughts that

keep me bound here.

Every goal I surrender to You.

All agendas I surrender to You.

All I have and all I am I give to You.

I ask only to be carried in your arms that I

might know the joy of full surrender.

May I not be tempted to think meaning-

less things and give them weight and suffer

thereby.

Please send Your spirit to lift me up, above the

pain and turmoil of this world.

Please give me new youth, and a free and joyful

spirit.

Show me the happiness of full forgiveness.

Whomever I do not forgive, dear Lord, please

show me how, for I wish to be free of the

guilt of this world.

Dear God,

Please make me happy.

I am ready to outgrow my childish pain.

Amen.

Dear God,

I feel such pain, anxiety and depression.

I know this is not Your will for me, and yet my

mind is held in chains by fear and paranoia.

I surender my life, right now, to You.

Take the entire mess, all of it, now too complicated

to explain to anyone but known by You

in each detail.

Do what I cannot do.

Lift me up.

Give me a new chance.

Show me a new light.

Make me a new person.

Dear God,

This depression frightens me.

Dear God,

Please bring me peace.

Amen.

An Evening Prayer (from the Jewish Faith)

I will be posting prayers on a regular basis from a variety of sources. The Warm Milk Journal does not promote one religion over the other. My spirituality is somewhat eclectic in that I find scripture and prayers from different faiths to be beautiful and supportive of my spiritual growth, peace of mind, and a restful night of sleep.

This one just happens to come from reformed Judaism (the religion of my childhood)

An evening prayer (from Gates Of The House: The New Union Home Prayer Book)

Lord, Your touch unseen brings sleep upon my eyes, You make

my lids grow heavy with the night. Grant that I may lie down

in peace, and rise up to life renewed. Let Your majesty and

beauty be in my thought at end of day, and at the moment of

my awakening!

Lord, Guardian of Israel, You neither slumber nor sleep.

Blessed are You by day, and blessed by night; blessed when

we lie down, blessed when we rise up. For in Your hands are

the souls of all living and the spirits of all flesh.

May angels’ wings caress me all through the night; let Your

good presence hover at my side. Lord, spread the shelter of

Your peace upon me, my dear ones, and all Your children.

Into Your hands I commend my body and my spirit, both when

I sleep and when I wake. In Your presence, I cast off fear and

lie down to restful sleep.

Amen

Two Bible Verses Good For Sleep

“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

“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, o lord, make me dwell in safety” psalm 4:8

(found in comments on http://www.selfhelpmagazine.com/article/insomnia)

Two Evening Prayers from Marianne Williamson’s Illuminata

I have been a fan of Marianne Williamson for many years. Here are a couple of evening prayers for us from her wonderful book, Illuminata A Return To Prayer:

Dear God.

Thank you for this day.

Thank you for my safety and the safety of my loved ones.

As I enter sleep, may these hours give me peace.

May they bring healing to my mind and body.

While I sleep, dear Lord, please bless the world.

Where there is pain, where there are people who

have no place to sleep, who suffer and who

die, may Your angels come unto them and

minister to their lives.

Dear Lord,

Please let the light stream in.

Please use my hours of sleep,

Please prepare me, during these hours of rest,

for greater service to You.

May the light that surrounds me, tomorrow

shine through me.

Soften my heart.

Thank you, Lord.

Amen.

Dear God,

I surrender to you the day now over.

May only the love remain.

Take all else into the fire of your transformative

power.

Release me, release others, from any effects of

my wrongmindedness or wrongdoing.

Dear God,

Return me to your light.

As I now give to You who I am, what I did, who

I loved, who I failed to love, please make all

things right.

Take all things.

May I continue to grow in Your light and love.

Tomorrow, may I be better.

Amen.

A Prayer To Help Us Sleep

“Loving God, you guard and protect all of your loving children. Be with me now as I try to sleep. Let me feel safe, secure, and sleepy as I imagine myself resting in your arms. Guide me into rest, that I may begin tomorrow afresh, to the Glory of your name.” Amen.

Repeat “guide me into rest” to promote drowsiness.

(from: http://protestantismsuite101.com)