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Dealing with Sleepless Nights
Esther 6:1
"On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king."
There is nothing worse than trying to get a full nights rest and not being able to sleep. If you are like me, when I go to bed I am usually exhausted from a full day's work. Sleep is important because it allows your body to get strength to help you through another day. The lack of sleep can adversely affect your attitude, health, production, mental sharpness, and outlook on your day and life. It is important that you get the sleep that your body needs. However, there are times when your mind is so busy that you will find it hard to sleep. When you find it hard to sleep, then let God's advice help you to get sleep.
First, ask God to give you sleep. Psalm 127:2 says, "It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep." When I am especially tired and know that I don't have as many hours to sleep as usual, I will ask God to help me sleep and to give me the strength of a full nights rest. There is nothing wrong with you asking God to help you sleep because there is nothing sinful about sleeping. If God gives His beloved sleep, then you would be wise to ask Him to help you sleep before you run to the doctor to get a sleeping pill. The best sleeping pill is God.
Second, work hard. Ecclesiastes 5:12 says, "The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep." The harder you work, the easier it is to sleep. The more you pack into your day, the better chance you will have of sleeping at night. One of the biggest reasons people have problems sleeping is because they have done nothing to get tired during the day. The harder you work the easier you will find it is to sleep.
Third, read books when you can't sleep. In the verse above, when the king couldn't sleep he read books. Instead of turning on the television when you can't sleep, pick up a book and start reading. The reason reading will help you sleep is because reading works the mind and eyes. If you will read for a while, you will find yourself getting sleepy, thus being able to get the sleep you need.
Fourth, keep a calm mind before you go to sleep. Daniel 2:1 says, "And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him." You will notice Nebuchadnezzar could not sleep because his spirit was troubled. In other words, you need your spirit to be calm to sleep well. You will find it hard to have a calm spirit if you do heavy work right before going to bed. Tone down your work a couple of hours before you go to bed to help calm your spirit so you can get some good sleep.
Last, use your sleepless nights to pray. Daniel 6:18 says, "Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him." When everything above has failed to put you to sleep, then use that time to pray. Maybe the reason God won't let you sleep is because He wants you to spend some time with Him. I have found that many great prayers have been answered because of sleepless nights. If you can't get to sleep past midnight, then use the remainder of the night to pray.