Bible verses for sleep: 14 passages to read before bed

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

David wrote this while enemies were real, not imagined. Peace at night rests on who keeps you, not on everything being settled.

When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.

Part of a passage about keeping wisdom close. Sweet sleep is pictured as one of the fruits of a life anchored in God.

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.

Written while David fled from his own son. That he woke at all felt like evidence of God holding him through the night.

In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat— for He gives sleep to His beloved.

A gentle rebuke to working late out of worry. Sleep is described as something God gives, not something you earn.

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Jesus invites the weary and burdened. Rest for your soul is offered before you have sorted anything out.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

A simple practice for a busy mind: name each worry to God, add one thanks, and let his peace stand guard.

You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.

Peace follows where the mind rests. At night, choosing one verse to return to can give a racing mind somewhere to land.

How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God, how vast is their sum! If I were to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; and when I awake, I am still with You.

The psalmist falls asleep counting God’s thoughts toward him and wakes still in his presence.

He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber. Behold, the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

You can close your eyes because Someone else keeps watch. The One who guards you never nods off.

When I remember You on my bed, I think of You through the watches of the night. For You are my help; I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings.

The night watches were the long shifts guards kept. David used his sleepless hours to remember God, not to replay fears.

I will bless the LORD who counsels me; even at night my conscience instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Even at night the heart is being taught. Setting God before you is something you can do lying still in the dark.

He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

Feathers and wings: an image of a bird covering its young. The terror by night is named, and then answered.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me”— even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You.

Darkness hides nothing from God. The night that feels endless to you is as clear as day to him.

But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him and said, “Teacher, don’t You care that we are perishing?” Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm.

Jesus slept through a storm that terrified seasoned fishermen, then calmed it with a word. His rest was trust, not ignorance.