Go to Sleep Praying
By the time Dottie and I climb the fourteen stairsteps to go to bed, we are exhausted. I no longer run up the stairs like I used to and I do not skip any of the steps, I hit each and every one of those steps and I use the banister too. It seems to be a longer walk than it used to be a few years ago.
The climb does not end with the staircase. Dottie and I have to climb up into our bed. If it were any higher we would have to look up to see the top. It is thirty-seven inches from the floor to the mattress top. That may not seem very high but let me remind you, Dottie and I have a 27 and 29 inch inseam respectively. We both agree, it would take basketball legs to climb into our bed and we cannot do it. We pull down the covers to our queen size tree house. Here’s our secret, we use our foot to pull out a little step stool from under the bed on each side. This stool is just high enough to give us the boost we need to climb into bed. It is a big deal, and when we are already tired it is an ordeal just climbing into our NBA bed.
After we have navigated the step stool and landed into the bed, we hit our memory foam topper. If you know anything about memory foam you know that once you are on the mattress it sinks and you have to roll uphill to change positions. It is exhausting! When we become somewhat comfortable, I realize that I have not taken my contact lenses out. You know what that means, I have to roll uphill to the side of the bed so I can throw my feet out toward the floor. I walk to the bathroom and after removing the contact lenses. I climb back into bed.
This is when I discover that I left the light on in the bathroom. Most of the time Dottie will roll uphill to the side of her bed and toss her legs toward the floor, walk to the bathroom, and turn off that light. By the time she returns, we are both spent.
I often pray after the above ordeal and before I end my prayer, I mean before I say amen, I fall asleep. I have fallen asleep praying many times and I used to feel very guilty about it. Do you? I shared this with my accountability partner, Pastor Bob McFarlane. He told me that I should not feel bad about falling asleep praying. What he said, made a lot of sense. He asked me, “Is there a better way to fall asleep?” I am thankful for his advise, because for many years now, I have often gone to sleep talking with God.
I often wake up the same way. I open my eyes, then fall back to sleep and dream a short dream before waking up again, I often pray and fall asleep again, and repeat this several times in a short period of time (ten-fifteen minutes), before I get up, usually before seven. These prayers have given me a better life, I encourage you to try this tip when you go to bed at night and when you are waking up in the morning. I guarantee your slumbering prayers will be a step toward a better life.
If you drive by our home after midnight and you notice an upstairs light on, don’t worry Dottie is on her way to turn it out!