Breathing prayer for sleep

I couldn't sleep last night. I stayed up a little late watching Shaun White's last go at the Olympics and didn't get to bed until around 9:30PM. I think it was 12:40-something that I woke up. I'd had a good nap. I lay there for a bit and headed for the couch. The cat soon joined me. I played games on my phone and finally resorted to a breathing/prayer exercise. Why didn't I do this sooner? Probably the same reason we always leave prayer as a last resort (which I don't really know the reason for).

Anyway, what do I mean by 'breathing prayer for sleep'? I've probably mentioned this before, but I will use either the "sinners prayer" ("Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God/have mercy on me, a sinner"), or, like last night, the first verse of Psalm 23. I breathe in on the first part, and then out on the second. And I try to make the out breath longer than the in. Then I just say it over and over until I almost always fall asleep.

With Psalm 23:1 I like to do the following. See if you catch what I'm doing:

The Lord is my shepherd / I shall not want.

THE Lord is my shepherd / I shall not want. 

The LORD is my shepherd / I shall not want.

The Lord IS my shepherd / I shall not want.

The Lord is MY shepherd / I shall not want.

The Lord is my SHEPHERD / I shall not want.

The Lord is my shepherd / I shall not want.

The Lord is my shepherd / I SHALL not want.

The Lord is my shepherd / I shall NOT want.

The Lord is my shepherd / I shall not WANT.

 

Notice how I emphasize a different word each time. It's kind of interesting to do.

So, that's how I make it through when I can't get to sleep. I can't promise it will work every time, but it works for me sometimes.

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"In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety." -- Psalm 4:8