Welcome to this time of prayer.
This is a prayer for when you lie down to sleep,
When you wake in the night,
Or when you want to rest or have a nap in the day.
The prayer ends in silence,
So if you are using this during the day,
You may wish to set a gentle alarm or some music to bring you back to wakefulness.
I assume you are in bed,
But if you are elsewhere,
Then change what I say to fit your situation.
You may wish to cover yourself with a blanket because the body temperature drops when we sleep.
As always,
My way of talking about God may not be yours.
Please substitute your own ways of thinking about and imagining the divine.
If you find yourself drawn in a different direction from where I lead,
Then let go of what I am saying and follow where the Spirit leads you.
And of course,
The aim is to fall asleep,
So don't worry if you drift in and out and lose the thread of what I am saying.
The purpose of this prayer is to fall asleep in God.
And if you are unable to sleep,
Please be kind to yourself.
Don't struggle.
Allow yourself to rest in God.
Find a comfortable position in which to relax with God.
It is alright to move during this prayer,
So you can start on your back if you want,
And at some point turn to your sleep position when you are ready.
It can help you to relax and feel safe if you are able to put one hand over your heart and one on your belly.
So take a few moments to become comfortable.
In peace I will lie down and sleep,
For you alone Lord make me dwell in safety.
Take a deep breath,
All the way up into your chest,
All the way down into your belly.
Hold it for a few seconds and relax as you let it out slowly.
Take another deep breath.
Hold it for a few seconds and relax a little more as you let it out slowly.
And take a third breath.
Hold it for a few seconds and relax even more as you let it out slowly.
And let your breathing return to normal.
Think a little deeper into your bed.
Enjoy the feeling of relaxing.
You no longer need to hold yourself.
Let the bed hold you and the covers envelop you with kindness and safety.
It may be that you have a lot of thoughts in your head.
You might like to imagine gathering them up,
Herding them together and putting them to one side just for now.
Perhaps put them on your bedside table or down on the floor or tuck them under your pillow if you want to keep them safe.
Or put them outside the bedroom if their clamour is too loud.
This might seem like a silly thing to do,
But imagination is a gift from God and this simple technique can really work.
And don't worry,
Your thoughts will still be there when you want to pick them up again.
But for now,
Put them away somewhere safe.
And return to your breathing.
You can breathe a bit more deeply if you want,
Or you can just follow your normal breathing.
Notice the flow of air in and out through your nostrils and mouth.
Cooler as you breathe in.
Cooler as you breathe out.
Notice your chest and belly rising on the in-breath and falling on the out-breath.
You might find it helpful to let your attention rest in your belly for a while.
Scan through your body,
Relaxing the parts of you as you go.
Your toes,
Feet,
Ankles,
Calves,
Knees,
Thighs,
Bottom.
The pelvis,
The base of your spine,
Your sacrum,
The small of the back,
Your upper back,
The back of the neck,
The back of your head,
The top of your head,
Your forehead,
Eyebrows,
Your face,
Eyes,
Cheeks,
Lips,
Chin,
The throat,
Shoulders,
Upper arms,
The chest,
The chest,
Arms,
Elbows,
Forearms,
Wrists,
Hands,
Fingers.
Back to your shoulders,
The upper chest,
The heart area,
The solar plexus,
And settle back into your belly.
This body is made by God and held in being by God.
Become aware of God with you,
God holding you,
God surrounding you,
God in you.
What is God's presence like?
Where in your body do you feel God's presence?
Gently open to this presence.
Hear God saying to you,
Abide in me.
Abide in my love.
Remain in my love.
Entrust yourself to God's love.
Know that you are held safe in God's love.
The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms.
O Lord,
You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up.
You discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord,
You know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.
It is so high that I cannot attain it.
If I ascend to heaven,
You are there.
If I make my bed in the depths,
You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me fast.
If I say,
Surely the darkness shall cover me and the light around me become night,
Even the darkness is not dark to you.
The night is as bright as the day,
For darkness is as light to you.
For it was you who formed my inward parts,
You who knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you,
For I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
All are your works,
That I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret,
Intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written all the days that were formed for me,
When none of them as yet existed.
How weighty to me are your thoughts,
O God,
How vast is the sum of them.
I try to count them,
They are more than the sand.
I come to the end,
I am still with you.
Search me,
O God,
And know my heart.
Test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
