7 Prayers for Insomnia to Say When You Can't Fall Asleep
September 2023
Dera Emenike
Dera Emenike finds inspiration in faith, spirituality, and the power of God's grace. Through heartfelt articles, she beautifully weaves together profound insights and personal experiences, inviting readers to embark on a journey of self-discovery and spiritual growth.
Feeling fatigued throughout the day and unable to get proper rest at night? It can be frustrating to search for sleep in vain. This is what insomnia looks like for many people. Tossing and turning while the world sleeps, it’s easy to feel alone and forgotten.
But even in the darkness, remember that God sees you. He can and is willing to heal your sleeplessness. What’s more, in alignment with God’s character of turning ashes into beauty, He can even use your sleepless nights to draw you closer to Him.
This article includes prayers for insomnia that can help you find solace in God’s presence when you’re battling restlessness and just can’t seem to doze off.
Can Prayer Help Insomnia?
Clinically, insomnia is a condition that can be treated or managed with medications and lifestyle changes. For Christians however, prayer can also be a very powerful tool for combating sleeplessness.
Talking to God brings comfort, relaxation, and relief from troubles, especially when your insomnia is anxiety-related. You can cast your worries on Him, knowing that He cares for you and wants to give you rest.
It is even more potent when combined with studying God’s promises in the Bible. By receiving and internalizing the conviction that God is in control of your life, you can lighten your burdens. This sense of peace can help you fall asleep and stay asleep better.
How Can I Overcome Insomnia?
Aside from prayers for sleepless nights, here are a few more practical ways that you can overcome sleeplessness and rest better:
- Identify any underlying worries, stress, or other factors that are keeping you awake.
The first step to curing insomnia is understanding the cause. If it is anxiety-related, it is always helpful to turn to scriptures that help remind you of God’s love and sovereignty over the circumstances in your life.
- Put little habits in place to help you sleep better.
Things like staying off caffeine, drinking warm milk, staying off screens before bed, doing light exercises, reading a boring book, and turning off the lights can really make a difference.
- Work on regaining your confidence in your God-given ability to fall asleep easily.
You can do this by reading the Bible to see that God has created you to rest when you get tired. Meditating on such verses can help you sleep easier, especially when your insomnia is psychological.
- Pick up learning relaxation techniques.
Learn meditation techniques, by listening to recordings of calming music like white noise, the trickling of a brook, or soft rain. Alternatively, You can get some rest during the day so that even if you can’t fall asleep at night, it can become a time for productivity.
Prayer for Insomnia
Dear Father, it’s nighttime, the period of the day You ordained for rest and I must admit I’ve found it difficult to do so. My mind runs a million miles an hour even when my body feels fatigued. Please help me Jesus to overcome this condition that keeps me awake when you have set my body to be still. Speak peace to the tension in my body, and the tempest in my mind. Take away anything that will wake me up before I’m well rested. Help me to remember that You are my Shepherd, directing my life to Your will so that I can hand over all my challenges to You.
Amen.
Prayer for Insomnia and Anxiety
O Lord, many days my worries keep me up at night, denying me any slumber. But I know from Your Word that You do not sleep nor slumber to watch over me, so I do not need to keep watch over myself and my challenges. And so Lord, I ask that You free me from the anxieties that plague my mind. Help me instead, to rest trusting in Your love for me. Give me the grace to accept the things I can’t change, so that they stop stealing my sleep. And pour out the oil of gladness on my life so that I may live my days in joy and my nights in peace, knowing that You are in control.
Amen.
Prayer for Insomnia and Depression
Dear God, it’s dark outside but feels even darker inside my heart. I feel so burdened, lost, and sometimes, numb, so much that I can’t seem to doze off no matter how hard I try. Medicine may heal a broken body but a broken spirit who can bear it? But I thank You for being so close and so near regardless. Thank You because You’re always with me. Today I ask You to heal my heart of this heaviness. Shed Your light on this darkness and bring me relief from my pain, and hope for tomorrow.
Amen.
Catholic Prayer for Insomnia
Heavenly Father, I pray that as I go to bed tonight You will give me a peaceful night’s sleep and help me to wake refreshed, ready, and willing to do Your will. Thank You, that You have given us this blessed time when our bodies and souls have an opportunity to be renewed, revived, and revitalized. Keep me throughout the night-time hours under Your protection, and may the angel of Your presence encamp around me tonight, for I love and trust You to keep me from all evil.
Amen.
Prayer for a Peaceful Sleep
Heavenly Father, as I lay my head down to nap, I pray for a sleep free from fits of anxiety. Take away every worry or distraction that will stop me from falling asleep as I should. And when I do, keep far from me every nightmare that instills fear and threatens my rest. Instead give me a filling, serene night’s sleep so that I may wake up refreshed, ready to face the new day. Grant Your divine protection and safety to my family and I tonight. Both from the enemy and the littlest of bugs.
Amen.
Prayer for Sleepless Nights
Dear Father, on countless nights, my eyes did not find sleep, nor my mind, rest. I know that this is not Your will for me, because You have created my body to shut down when it is tired. But the enemy has robbed me of sleep on those nights. Today I take over him and declare that he has no power over my rest. I banish sleeplessness from my life forever. Fill my room with Your presence my God. Send your angels to keep watch over me and rescue me even if the enemy tries to attack.
Amen.
Prayer to Fall Asleep
Dear Lord, thank You for today and all the blessings it brought. However, when it’s time to power down from all the activities of the day, I find it really hard to fall asleep even when I feel very tired. As I lie in bed tonight and every other night, I ask that You help me fall asleep quickly. Grant me reprieve from tossing and turning and speak peace to my mind. Heal me from the anxieties that keep me awake and the restlessness that plagues my body. Your Word says that You give sleep to those You love and I am confident in Your love for me.
Amen.
Conclusion
Sometimes it may feel like there’s absolutely nothing worse than being exhausted, and yet being unable to fall asleep. In those moments, you must remember that you are not alone in your battle against insomnia. There are many other believers just like you, whom Your Father sees and wants to give peace.
By saying these prayers for insomnia, you can truly connect with Him, and find rest in His presence. So don’t be afraid to talk to Him about your struggles, invite Him in, and draw the tranquility you need to sleep and feel refreshed in the morning.
Explore our powerful prayers for anxiety as well.
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