Sometimes life can feel exhausting by the time evening arrives! With the fading light and a jumble of experiences to sift through from the day we can often feel fatigued, tired, even overwhelmed. It can be easy to block out all these thoughts with a good book or a T.V. show or just some internet browsing. Sometimes I find during the tough seasons in life that drawing near to God becomes a two second prayer as my head hits the pillow for sleep! Yet deep down I know what my soul needs the most. Unless I feast upon some heavenly peace at night time I will feel empty on waking.

A bedtime prayer need not be a prayer of detail. God does not need our prayers of worship – it is us who need communion and intimacy with God. Taking time to rest, to breathe a little slower, to look and to listen can take us to a new level of peace that the fast fixes of our media world cannot reach. Before bedtime, why not take a short evening stroll in the countryside, see the sun go down or watch a flicking candle during a long bath? All these things can be a way to draw close to God and lead us gently into the Lord’s presence.

I pray that tonight whether you are in a place of hope and security or a place of struggle and hardship, this short evening prayer will help you lay down to sleep in the shelter and security of our Lord Almighty:-

Dear Father in Heaven,

Here, safe with you, I drink in your peace. Help me to sift through the many experiences, feelings and thoughts I have encountered today. I allow myself to rest, to wind down and to be still. Help me to surrender all I am to you, my fatigue, my concerns, my hopes and fears.
As I sleep tonight, I choose to hold your hand. I choose to live with you. I choose to believe, I choose to trust, I choose you always.

Amen.

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