CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Hi guys,
I have yet another problem: During the day, when I pray, and when I pray in groups with others to God, I'm fine, but when I pray to God, during my own personal quiet time and chat with God time, at the end of the day when all the temptations are out of the way, I have this nasty tendency to fall asleep before I finish my prayer. That's not good, because if you can't build a good relationship with another person if you keep falling asleep or getting distracted whenever your talking with them, how am I supposed to build a good, strong relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God that way? This is a serious problem, and I really need to solve it. To give you an idea of what my prayer time/ quiet time is like: I read my Bible any time during the day, until I feel I've read enough, and or or am impacted by it. I also pray throughout the day - short prayers asking for God's help, or strength, or thanking Him for something or praising Him for something, praying for someone else, or asking Him for something. Then at night, on my bed before I go to sleep during my bedtime with the lights off, I try to pray to God. I like to think of it as if the earlier prayers are shorter conversations with God, and I am then getting into a longer conversation with God, where I can talk to Him about the day, talk about problems, ask for help, pray for others, thank and praise Him, etc. This is the problem part because I fall asleep halfway.The reason why I pray during my bedtime is because 1) I don't have my parents chasing after me to get to bed as early as possible, and 2)It is the end of the day where practically all distractions have gone for the day, and the day is pretty much over. Could you guys maybe tell me what's wrong with me, and how I should change, and what I should do, and tell me of any other problems you might see from reading this post, and how or possible ways I should address them? Thanks!
Wiggins

Hmmm, I don't think there's anything wrong with you. I always have trouble getting to sleep myself, however if I was faced with your problem I'd drink coffee a few hours before bedtime (or something else with caffiene in it, eg. pepsi / red bull).

Perhaps your parents would have a problem with that though, dunno. Just a nice practical suggestion.

...well, i guess a suggestion would be not to pray in your bed with the lights out. ^^;; sit down by the table with all the lights on; it would be relatively harder to fall asleep there.

I have the same problem, wiggins. My suggestion is to kneel next to your bed. That should keep you awake. If not...well...Straylight's right...but I would suggest Sobe's No Fear .

Good topic Wiggins, I was just thinking of posting something like this.

I'm probably worse than you. I have a hard time with quiet time alone. Not to say that this should make you feel better...

I'd say don't pray at your bed. Sit up on a chair.

Or you could pick a specific time (an hour before your sleeping time), then you wouldn't be that sleepy. ^^

I usually say a quick one at night, and a longer one in the morning heh.

Anyway, an addition to this, I have an idea for those who struggle to do daily Quiet Time. I made the Daily Bread page the default on my browser so that everytime I use the Internet, this page opens up and I'm reminded of His word. I'm trying it this week and hope it works.

Maybe God is trying to tell you that you need more sleep.

God tells me that a lot. So do other people.

I think Vash and Mave had good suggestions. Instead of praying in bed, kneel by your bed so you're not in "sleep position." That way it's not so easy for your body to trump your spirit.

I wouldn't suggest drinking coffee before bed, as you don't really want to be up *all night,* right?

And by the way... there is *nothing* wrong with you. You would not believe how common this is...

Lol, I used to have a similar problem. The difference was that after I started praying I would get distracted by other thoughts, and end up drifting off thinking about those ^^v Eh heh. For me, the problem was that if you're giving something too much of your concintration during the day, like music or school issues, it might interfere with the times that you're actually trying to just talk with God. Stress can really derail prayer if you're not spending enough time with the Lord, and it's really hard to keep that in a balance. Anyway, I ended up having to pray kneeling by my bed with the light on after I do my devotions, along with getting rid of some of the stressful things in my life that were taking from my prayer life. (Those can be considered as idols if you're putting them before God.) That was my problem. In your case, I suggest what's already been said - just try to pray with your lights on and without lying down. If your parents bug you about having your lights on late at night... stuff a rolled up blanket undernieth the gap between your door and the floor and they'll never know you're awake. Always works for me XD I'm so terrible *falls over laughing*

Ooh! I always find it a lot more exciting to be praising God then asking requests. Tends to keep me awake a lot easier, along with the fact that we should be praising Him a lot more than we think. Hope that helps ^^

I do the same thing... Not just when I'm praying, but when I"m studying Japanese or reading a book... Yet, for some reason, I can never fall asleep when I WANT to... What's up with that? Hmm... I suppose kneeling would make it easier to stay awake, as long as you're not an all day prayer kind of person... That can take a toll on your back.

Everyone's already gave umm....good advice I guess so there really not much for me too say. But remember the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. I don't know if that will help you much Wiggins but that's all I could think of too tell you so hope that helps somwhat.

1st I'd 2nd the idea of getting more sleep, or better sleep as well (didn't I write on that once before?)... anyway,....

As for the praying thing, I myself have been one of those ones who would fall asleep even kneeling on the hard floor next to by bed.... in the end I found the solution to be somewhat simple, but I'm not sure if you'll be able to make use of it.

I pace and when I can, pray out loud (even if it's not totally audible).... by pacing around I know I won't dose off, it's one thing I know I've never managed to do. Praying out loud (or mouthing prayer) helps to keep focused since the extra effort of "speaking" helps to keep the mind focused on what you're saying.... this however doesn't help much for the other end of things (shutting up to listen to what God has to say )

Hope that's of help to some of you.

you know, madphil, that's a great suggestion! I've done it before (hmm, why did I ever stop...? Must have forgotten)

Praying out loud helps you both not to sleep and to keep your concentration (so your mind doesn't wander, Pepper Kittie ^^ ) I'll be doing that from now on. This is great, thanks for the reminder...

Speaking of shutting up and listening for what God has to say, are we supposed to read our bibles then, or will God, just talk to us audibly, or will He pop stuff into our heads, or speak to us in our hearts and minds, or what?

I don't know that I'm able to answer your second question, Wiggins, but in regards to your thread post, my grandpa always had a different take on falling asleep while in prayer. He would say, "Wouldn't the best time to fall asleep be when you are in the arms of your loving Savior?", and I always took consolation in that. However, this doesn't mean that you should have pray time during nap time all the time. I just think that from what I've read in your posting thus far on CAA, I would say that you are truly seeking after God, and want to follow Him and be His child. If you fall asleep while praying at night, you're not a heathen or anything. You don't always have to pray at that point. I do most of my praying that I've committed to (such as unsaved friends, friends that need prayer, people I've committed to praying for, confessions of sin, thanksgiving, etc) during the other parts of the day, so that if I do fall asleep, I won't have missed it. Just some encouragement, and I hope that you don't take me as a heathen for it.

Kokhiri Sojourn wrote:I don't know that I'm able to answer your second question, Wiggins, but in regards to your thread post, my grandpa always had a different take on falling asleep while in prayer. He would say, "Wouldn't the best time to fall asleep be when you are in the arms of your loving Savior?", and I always took consolation in that. However, this doesn't mean that you should have pray time during nap time all the time. I just think that from what I've read in your posting thus far on CAA, I would say that you are truly seeking after God, and want to follow Him and be His child. If you fall asleep while praying at night, you're not a heathen or anything. You don't always have to pray at that point. I do most of my praying that I've committed to (such as unsaved friends, friends that need prayer, people I've committed to praying for, confessions of sin, thanksgiving, etc) during the other parts of the day, so that if I do fall asleep, I won't have missed it. Just some encouragement, and I hope that you don't take me as a heathen for it.

Of course I don't. Now why would I do that? Thanks for the encouragement and the different perspective I never looked at. I'm finding Mave's longer prayer in the mornig to be useful, at least while I'm on holiday... We'll see how things go when I return to school.

Actually wiggins, I'm sitting here thinking that you've got a beautiful and intimate relationship with our Lord there. I don't view falling asleep while praying as problem in the least bit. If I may be honest for a moment, I actually envy your position. True intimacy in prayer is hard to achieve, and it seems like you're right on the path. God just loves spending time with, and playing with His children. Just let Him, and enjoy your time with the Father

Concerning some of the other people's suggestions, I do agree with the majority of them. I'd like to add my own though, and that would be to keep doing what you're doing, yet for a moment just be still and experience His love a little more. Some of the most intense moments that I've ever had were not from songs, nor from a great lesson in the Word, but from just sitting there late at night, unable to move or speak... simply because I knew He was there with me, and that He is holy. Sit on that one for a moment, I know I need to. ^_^

And speaking of the second question, that'd be yes, yes, yes, and definitely. The Lord speaks to us in many ways, and each of the methods are wholly appropriate and each have their own time. I'd like to talk with you more about the matter, but I see that you're in London, and that puts you at about six hours ahead of me so AIM wouldn't be very prudent for either of us. If you'd like though you could just e-mail me and I'll be happy to go into detail any further. I don't want this post to get any longer than it already is :p

Frankly I'd recommend "Hippo in the Garden" (think the name's right) written by James Ryle (I think it's sub-title is "a non-religious approach to a conversation with God").

I used to worry that I never heard from God, etc.... don't sweat it... it takes a while to learn to listen, and even then I recommend a sensible approach if you think you're hearing from God.

*speaking like confused

How on earth does that work? I mean that's like talking to someone and falling asleep before you can finish your sentance, I just don't understand.

Having suffered from this problem as well, here's a good analogy for you. Have you ever spoken with someone who works night shifts? My mother does...try speaking to her after a 12-19 hour shift sometime before she gets a chance to sleep. Their words come out slurred and unfocused and they drift off sporadically...it's not their fault; they are trying to stay awake but their body is so demanding of sleep it's taking over their motor controls. It's the same way with prayer at night (or for me, early in the morning.) You don't meant to fall asleep, and it's not the same kind of prayer you have when you're fully awake.

wiggins wrote:This is the problem part because I fall asleep halfway.The reason why I pray during my bedtime is because 1) I don't have my parents chasing after me to get to bed as early as possible, and 2)It is the end of the day where practically all distractions have gone for the day, and the day is pretty much over. Could you guys maybe tell me what's wrong with me, and how I should change, and what I should do, and tell me of any other problems you might see from reading this post, and how or possible ways I should address them? Thanks!

I don't believe anything is wrong with you. Awhile ago, I was listening to Key Life on the radio and this is what I heard on the program:

1. Just before bedtime is a good time to pray.
2. Can you think of a better way to fall asleep?

I've never had that pr