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Bible Verses for When You Can't Sleep
Awake at 3 a.m. with a racing mind? Keep the lights low and read one of these slowly. You don't have to read them all.
Open the app: verses for feeling anxious →If you’re thinking about suicide or are in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, US) or chat at 988lifeline.org.
13 verses to read slowly
In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me live in safety.
Psalm 4:8 (WEB)I laid myself down and slept. I awakened, for the LORD sustains me.
Psalm 3:5 (WEB)It is vain for you to rise up early, to stay up late, eating the bread of toil, for he gives sleep to his loved ones.
Psalm 127:2 (WEB)When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.
Proverbs 3:24 (WEB)He will not allow your foot to be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
Psalm 121:3-4 (WEB)“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 (WEB)when I remember you on my bed, and think about you in the night watches. For you have been my help. I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.
Psalm 63:6-7 (WEB)The LORD will command his loving kindness in the daytime. In the night his song shall be with me: a prayer to the God of my life.
Psalm 42:8 (WEB)You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Psalm 91:5 (WEB)You will keep whoever’s mind is steadfast in perfect peace, because he trusts in you.
Isaiah 26:3 (WEB)In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (WEB)In the multitude of my thoughts within me, your comforts delight my soul.
Psalm 94:19 (WEB)casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7 (WEB)
Everything feels heavier at 3 a.m. Worries that seemed manageable at lunch grow huge in the dark, and the harder you try to fall asleep, the more awake you feel.
The psalmists knew sleepless nights. Psalm 63 talks about remembering God "in the night watches." Psalm 121 reminds us that the one who keeps you "will not slumber." You can stop standing guard. Someone else is on watch.
Try this: instead of fighting to sleep, give the night back to God. Pick one verse, maybe Psalm 4:8, and breathe it in slow pieces. "In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep." If a worry comes up, name it, hand it over (1 Peter 5:7), and come back to the verse.
If sleeplessness keeps happening, it's worth talking to your doctor too. Caring for your body is part of caring for your soul.