Last night before going to bed I asked my wife an unusual question, “Should I get up at my normal 6am time and take my regular prayer walk followed by some time reading the Bible, or should I set my alarm a half hour later, forgo my prayer walk and only spend time reading my Bible?”

The reason I asked is because this week (that is, the week I originally wrote this blog post), I’ve been overly tired and facing seasonal allergies. Furthermore, the one thing that really helps my seasonal allergies is a bit of extra sleep each night. Trudi, who sometimes seems to know me better than I know myself, recognizes how important sleep is for managing my health, but she also knows that prayer walks are foundational to my preparation to live a Spirit-dependent life each day. So she shrewdly suggested, “Why don’t you set your alarm tomorrow for a half-hour later than usual, and if the Lord wants to wake you up for your prayer walk, then allow him to do so.”

So I ended up taking my prayer walk this morning, because, apparently, the Lord knew I needed prayer rather than sleep! But leaving it “up to the Lord to wake you up” is probably not the best course of action when trying to decide whether to pray or sleep!

Here are some thoughts that might help you decide whether to choose prayer or sleep.

Jesus Sometimes Chose Prayer Over Sleep

In Mark 1:32-34, Jesus stayed up late one night healing and casting out demons. The text makes it clear that there were lots of people, and that he did lots of ministry—and suggests that he continued late into the night. But notice the very next verse: “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed” (1:35). Jesus decided to forgo sleep at a moment when he obviously needed it.

In Luke 6:12-13, Jesus spent a whole night praying on a mountain. The following morning he appointed twelve of his disciples to be apostles. The order of the text suggests that his prayers were driven by his intention to make this appointment the following day. But please observe, apart from prayer, it is rarely a good idea to miss a whole night of sleep for anything.

Jesus also chastised the disciples for not praying instead of sleeping at a time when Jesus really needed them to keep praying (Matt 26:36-46 and parallels). One possible reason the Gospel writers included this account was to encourage later Christians to sometimes choose prayer over sleep.

Sleep is a Gift from God

Let us, however, balance these initial verses about missing sleep for prayer with the observation that in the Bible sleep is viewed as a gift from God.

“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep” (Ps 127:2). This verse primarily warns against the emptiness of worrisome workaholism. But it finishes by asserting that sleep is one of God’s precious gifts to us: “he gives to his beloved sleep.”

Other verses in the Psalms and Proverbs reinforce the idea that sleep is one of God’s beneficial blessings. For example, Psalm 4:8 says, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” Proverbs 3:24 reads, “If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”

More importantly, the Sabbath Rest command—number four in the Ten Commandments—focuses on the importance of rest more generally. As new covenant believers, we may not be obligated to observe a particular day of rest (per Rom 14:5-7; Col 2:16—though I recognize Christians disagree on this issue). But since God’s original command was rooted in the creation narrative (Exod 20:8-11), the principle of rest likely continues into the new covenant age.

Summary of Bible so far: It is important for Christians to rest, and sleep is a gift from God, but sometimes it is better to choose prayer over sleep.

A Few Additional Thoughts

In addition to these biblical notes, let me add a few other thoughts that might help you decide whether to choose prayer or sleep in a particular instance.

  • Regular prayer should be a part of your life. Prayer, in my opinion, is one of the for growth in Christ: Scripture, prayer, church, and mission. Yes, you need to pray repeatedly (1 Thess 5:17), but I’ve observed that people who don’t set aside regular times for prayer usually don’t develop the spiritually oriented mindset necessary to pray throughout the day.

  • If regular prayer is already well-established in your life, then missing prayer one day for sleep isn’t significant. But if you are trying to establish a habit of prayer, you should probably be hard-core about praying every day until the pattern is formed. It usually takes a few months to establish a habit. Thus, during the months when you are trying to set up a regular pattern of prayer, missing prayer for sleep probably isn’t a good idea.

  • During periods of significant suffering, I think that a good rule-of-thumb is that it is better to rise from one’s bed in the middle of the night to bring your concerns to God than to lie awake in bed worrying about them.

  • When you face the occasional decision about whether to choose prayer or sleep, like I did last night, there is probably a better approach than “leave it up to the Lord to wake you up.” In such cases, I suggest that you assume a bias in the direction of prayer rather than sleep. This is because we humans tend to gravitate toward whatever is easiest. The Bible says to “train yourself for godliness” (1 Tim 4:7). If you’re on the fence about what you should do in a particular instance, choose prayer. But for the few really disciplined personality types reading these words right now, don’t forget that prayer isn’t always the best decision. That’s because appropriate rest, including sleep, is necessary and God-honoring.

Maybe these thoughts will help you the next time you consider whether it would be better to pray or sleep.

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