At 3am when sleep is elusive and the only thing that stands between you and sleep is worry, wishful thinking and if onlys, the funny thing is that I’m certain I’m the only one on the planet having trouble sleeping. Staring at the ceiling, wallowing in self-pity doesn’t help either. I looked it up…I am not alone. The sleep industry is a growing billion-dollar industry, $585 billion is spent on environmental helps (everything from sleep mattresses to sleep trackers, routine modification and sleep monitors. When all else fails, people turn to therapy and prescriptions to help them sleep. (Atherton, 2024)
Grief, loss and stress have a way of working themselves into dreams and sleep patterns no matter how hard we try with lifestyle methods of good food, exercise and better bedtime routines. Cutting out screen time before bed, self-soothing with a hot shower and hot tea and stretches help. Sometimes, despite all our best efforts a good night’s sleep is hard to find. The journey to being well-rested begins with knowing what self-care is need each day.
Sometimes a long walk is what is needed, other times a hot shower and a funny comedy. Other days only a good book and hot tea will do. Practice self-care and begin to notice and journal the days you’ve been rested and refreshed. What happened? How did you get there? Repeat as needed. If the tried and true methods don’t work, get creative. The ups and downs and the turns or bends in the road are constantly changing in our lives…we have to figure out how to adjust quickly and learn to handle what comes our way.
During an especially rough patch in my life, a woman in our church, a social worker approached me and asked me what she could pray for-I quickly quipped- “A good night’s sleep.” She said, “Ok.” And she did. That woman prayed for me for two solid years for good rest and good sleep. God heard her prayers. Despite the anxiety, sorry and tumult in my life at that point-I faithfully slept 7-8 hours a night. I could handle long, taxing days at work and new challenges at home-with the proper rest.
1 Chronicles 5:20 They were helped in fighting them, and God handed the Hagrites and all their allies over to them, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in Him.
We may not be fighting the Hagrites. Our battles are different. We battle the seven day a week 24/7 work week. We battle rising prices. A society torn in two from culture and value differences. We work to put the pieces back together through the ups and downs. To do this we may have a few nights where the ever-elusive alarm clock ticks in our face at 3am. Last night was one such night for me. For me the You-Tube fireplace, the soft playing piano music playing in the background and hot water helped lulled me back to sleep.
Not that God is a Jack-In-The-Box or a magic button. None of these is true. Yet, He is our Heavenly Father who knows us and loves us better that we love ourselves. Let us travel… a different way.
Why not ask Him for help when we are in the trenches?
⦁ Maybe it is the need for a good night’s sleep.
⦁ Maybe it is for relief in the budget that is paycheck to paycheck.
⦁ Maybe it is a favorable test result or good report from the doctor.
For these requests and more. Lord, Have Mercy. Lord, reach to each and everyone reading these words. Hear the cries of their heart. Grant them peace as a salve to their soul. Be with them as they struggle through the day or night. You are there with them.
While the world focuses on better mattresses, better light, temperature control, sleep applications and drugs to help people sleep…give us, the people of God a different way. Chart our course. Give us a path with better rest, along with days filled with peace and purpose. We do this as children of God who ever trust in their Heavenly Father.
Isaiah 10:20 says, But they will faithfully trust in the Lord the Holy One of Israel.
May God send into your lives each and every one of you prayer partners to be on their knees for you morning, noon and night. Be a prayer, be a leader of prayer. God is listening.
Blessings,
Casey
Casey Salminen
Founder, Blessed & Inspired

Atherton, Annie, (2024) 2024 Projected to Be Biggest Year Yet for Sleeping Industry, January 29, 2024. www.sleepfoundation.org
www.istock.com Insomnia, Katarzyn Bialasiewicz, ID 526506645
Concordia Self Study Bible, 1986 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 1 Chronicles 5: 20, p. 591
The One Year Bible (2004) New Living Translation, Tyndale House, Carol Stream, Illinois
Isaiah 10:20, p. 962.