Are you having a hard time when you try to head off insomnia? I discovered something new last night that is helping me deal with this regular problem. It works so well, I want to share it with you!
How to Head Off Insomnia
Insomnia has been one of my unwelcome companions in middle age. I’ve read that hormonal changes can often affect women’s sleep patterns, and I assume they are affecting mine (since I’ve noticed other hormonally-related changes too).
I’ve written some popular posts about what to do when you experience insomnia, including How to Meet God in the Night Hours, A Midnight Meeting with God and Spiritual Tips for Better Sleep. But, I have yet to write a post about this specific tip, since I just started trying it.
I’m a late arrival to the prayer journal trend. Yet last night before bed, I took about 10 minutes to journal my prayers. And for the first time in several days, I slept soundly for 7.5 hours, despite hormonal changes and light from the full moon threatening peaceful sleep.
Are you having a hard time when you try to head off insomnia? I discovered something new last night that is helping me handle it better. #insomnia #christianliving #encouragement Click To Tweet
How a Prayer Journal Helps Head Off Insomnia
A prayer journal can help you put Philippians 4:6-7 into practice. I really like the translation of The Message for these familiar verses:
Don’t fret or worry.
Instead of worrying, pray.
Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.
Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.
It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Though I’m a peaceful person by nature, I believe I’ve been going to bed with hidden worries. They sometimes come out in nightmares, which keep me awake for hours. Most of the time, worries quickly fill up the silent space at 3:00 a.m. when I wake up due to hormones or light interference. Worries often make my insomnia much worse.
In only 10 minutes last night, I wrote my petitions, praises and worries into my prayer journals. I let God know my concerns. And I did go to bed with a greater sense of God’s wholeness (shalom), which helped me settle down. In praying on paper, I subconsciously surrendered the matters over to the Lord, and trusted him to bring everything together for my good.
In my book Transforming Your Thought Life, I talk about the importance of writing out God’s Word while meditating on it. Writing things down increases the chances of remembering it at least 40 percent. So, by writing down my petitions, praises and worries first, I helped my brain sort them out faster, saving it time from doing that overnight (and sparing me nightmares). I allowed God’s sense of wholeness to settle me down, and let Jesus sit at the center of my thoughts instead of my worries.
A prayer journal can help you put Philippians 4:6-7 into practice. #peace #prayerjournal #prayer Click To Tweet
Try This to Head Off Insomnia
Are you willing to record prayers before bed in an effort to head off insomnia? I just started this at night, but I’ve been doing it for quite a while before taking Sunday afternoon naps. It may work just as well for you. I’m so happy with this solution, I couldn’t wait to share it with you!
Want to see the prayer journals I use? You can see The Prayer Map HERE, which I use for focused prayer requests. I’m jotting down daily prayers in my new prayer planner shown on THIS POST. Also, I just bought a one-line-a-day planner (hard copy or PDF), where I’m jotting down ideas for new content. Writing in all three keeps those thoughts separate, and makes it easy for me to refer back to see God’s answers and direction.
If you’re struggling with insomnia, I truly hope these tips help you. I encourage you to meditate on your favorite version of Philippians 4:6-7 every night before bed, and turn it into a prayer. By combining Christian meditation with written prayer, you can grow your faith and sleep with greater peace.
By combining Christian meditation with written prayer, you can grow your faith and sleep with greater peace. #christianmeditation #prayer #insomnia Click To TweetPrayer
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the gift of sleep.
It’s a gift I often take for granted.
But insomnia reminds me that it is a gift, not a right.
Today I ask you to help me have more restful sleep.
I trust that if I begin surrendering my worries to you
before I go to sleep, you will set my mind at rest.
If I offer my petitions and praises to you first,
I can experience a sense of your wholeness in my heart.
I invite you, Jesus, to sit at the center of my life
in place of my worries and fears.
May a new practice of writing out my prayers
strengthen my faith and give me greater peace.
I thank you in advance for the benefits to come
as I meditate on your Word and lift my prayers to you
before I go to sleep.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
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