1. Sleep
considered a blessing:
A. Trust in God
to bless you with sleep:
*Psa.3:5*I laid
me down & slept; for the Lord sustained me
*Psa.4:8*I will
both lay me down in peace, & sleep
*Psa.127:2b*He
giveth His beloved sleep
*Eccl.5:12a*The
sleep of a labouring man is sweet
*Jer.31:26*I
awaked, & beheld; & my sleep was sweet unto me
B. God gives
freedom from fear & sweet sleep:
*Psa.91:5*Thou
shalt not be afraid for the terror by night
*Pro.3:24*Not
be afraid...shalt lie down, & thy sleep be sweet
*Acts 12:6*[Peter
able to sleep in prison] bound with two chains
C. The Lord can
miraculously give you deep sleep:
*Gen.2:21*The
Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam
*1Sam.26:12*A
deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them
D. Rest in the
Lord & sleep through anything:
*Ezk.34:25*Dwell
safely in the wilderness, & sleep in the woods
*Mat.8:24*Tempest...ship
covered with waves: but He was asleep
2. If you can't
sleep, pray:
*Psa.42:8*In
the night His song shall be with me, & my prayer
*Psa.63:5,6*When
I...meditate on Thee in the night watches
*Isa.26:9a*With
my soul have I desired Thee in the night
*Lam.2:19*Arise,
cry out in the night...pour out thine heart
*(See also Psa.4:4 ;
119:55 .)
3. Some reasons
for not being able to sleep:
A. When the
Lord wants to speak to you:
*1Sam.3:3-10*Samuel
was laid down to sleep...the Lord called
*Job 4:12-17*In
the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, a spirit passed before my face...I
heard a voice
B. Sometimes
God allows it to work out His will:
*Est.6:1-3*On
that night could not the king (Ahasuerus) sleep
C. When worried
or troubled:
*Psa.77:3,4*Thou
holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled
*Eccl.2:23*His
days are sorrows...taketh not rest in the night
*Eccl.5:12b*Abundance
of the rich will not suffer him to sleep
*Dan.6:14-18*[King
Darius passed the night fasting, unable to sleep]
*(See also Psa.6:6 )
D. Because of
unusual dreams:
*Dan.2:1*His
spirit was troubled, & his sleep brake from him
*Job 7:13,14*Then
Thou scarest me with dreams, & visions
E. When God is
testing you, as He did Job:
*Job 7:3,4*Wearisome
nights are appointed unto me...I am full of tossings to & fro unto the
dawning of the day
F. Punishment
for disobeying God:
*Deut.28:58,66,67*If
thou wilt not observe...thou shalt fear day & night... shalt say,
"Would God it were morning"
G. Be
considerate of those who are sleeping:
*Pro.27:14*He
that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early...it shall be counted
a curse to him
*Song 2:7*Stir
not up, nor awake my love, till he please
4. Good reasons
for missing sleep:
A. To pray
desperately:
*1Sam.15:11*It
grieved Samuel; & he cried unto the Lord all night
*Lk.6:12*(Jesus)
continued all night in prayer to God
*1Thes.3:10*Night
& day praying exceedingly (to) see your face
B. To rise
early & pray:
*1Sam.1:19*They
rose up in the morning early, & worshipped
Mk.1:35 Rising up a great while
before day...Jesus prayed
*Psa.57:8,9*Awake,
psaltery & harp: I myself will awake early. I will praise Thee, O Lord
*Psa.119:147*I
prevented (was up before) the dawning of the morning, & cried: I hoped in
Thy Word
C. To do your
job:
*Gen.31:38-40*[Jacob
frequently sacrificed sleep for 20 years because of diligent shepherding]
D. Caution
about getting overtired:
*Psa.127:2*It
is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late...for so He giveth His beloved
sleep
*Acts 20:7-9*Eutychus,
being fallen into a deep sleep...fell down
5. When it is not
good to sleep:
A. Don't
oversleep when you should be working:
*Pro.6:9*How
long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When arise...?
*Pro.6:10,11*A
little sleep, a little slumber...folding of hands: so shall thy poverty come
(See also Pro.24:33,34 )
*Pro.10:5*He
that sleepeth in harvest...son that causeth shame
*Pro.20:13*Love
not sleep, lest thou come to poverty
*Pro.26:14*As
the door turneth upon hinges, so doth the slothful
B. Times to
rise & pray:
*Jon.1:4-6*O
sleeper...arise, call upon thy God
*Mk.14:37-41*Sleepest
thou? Couldst thou not watch one hour? Watch ye & pray, lest ye enter into
temptation
*Lk.22:46*Why
sleep ye? Rise & pray, lest ye enter temptation
C. When
something important needs to be done first:
*Psa.132:3-5*I
will not give sleep to mine eyes, until I find
*Pro.6:1-4*Do
this now...give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber
D. Oversleeping
can be caused by laziness or unconcern for others:
*Pro.19:15*Slothfulness
casteth into a deep sleep
*Isa.56:10,11*Watchmen
are blind...sleeping, loving to slumber
E. Sleep can
symbolise spiritual insensitivity:
*Rom.13:11,12*Knowing
the time...now it is high time to awake
*Eph.5:14*Awake
thou that sleepest...Christ shall give thee light
*1Thes.5:4-8*Let
us not sleep...let us watch & be sober
6. Trusting the
Lord to awaken you:
A. When you've
slept enough & need to rise:
*Isa.50:4*(God)
wakeneth (me) morning by morning...to hear
*Zech.4:1*And
the angel that talked with me...waked me
B. To flee
danger:
*Mat.2:13,14*Angel...appeareth
to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise... flee. He arose...by night, &
[left with Jesus & Mary]
*Acts 12:4-7*Peter
(slept)...angel of the Lord...smote Peter on the side, & raised him up,
saying, Arise up quickly
C. To give you
something you need:
*1Ki.19:5-7*[Angel
woke Elijah up twice to give him food & water]
D. He awakens
you after giving you an important message:
*Mat.1:24*Joseph
being raised from sleep did as angel had bidden
Copyright (c) 1997 by The Family
