Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

God in my sleeping, God in my waking,

God in my watching, God in my hoping.

[For the whole prayer, click Prayers From the Hebrides above.]

God In My Sleeping

Sleep is where we work out what’s been lying heavy on our hearts, minds, and souls. In a dreamscape, our minds aren’t quite so narrow, and we can take a swim in the creative sea of images common to humanity – the collective unconscious. Sometimes, solutions come from this deep place, surfacing in our conscious when we are ready for them.

The usual rules don’t apply in our world of sleep. We don’t have the same boundaries, and our sense of self is, perhaps, just a bit more permeable and open to change. But that openness might be to darkness just as much as it is to light.

If I need God anywhere, it’s when I am open to things in this deep, deeply human land we call sleep. No matter how old, I’m young enough to pray this child’s prayer:

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep,

Angels guard me through the night (If I die before I wake),

And wake me in the morning light (I pray the Lord my soul to take.).

 

2 thoughts on “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

  1. Robin Nielsen

    I am always thankful to have a good night’s sleep. Sometimes my sleep is interrupted but if I add all the hours cumulatively and they add up to 7 or 8 hours, I am especially thankful. But, if not, then I must make up for it with a nap of some sort, anywhere from 10 minutes to hours!! All depends.
    God gave us the gift of sleep for so many reasons as you said Johnna. The scientists, who help God with their research, have proven somehow that sleep helps rid the proteins from the brain, a necessary process. We are all blessed with sleep.
    Thanks be to God! Amen!!

    Reply

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