A Prayer for Rest

Heavenly Father, You are the founder and governor of order, shalom, and rest. We come before You in the name of Christ Jesus to express our gratitude that You are the one who lays us down to sleep and superintends all that is around us while we do. 

We take comfort, delight, and security in the promises that You have made to us, Your people. Promises of settlement, restoration, and still waters. We ask that You would firmly establish and manifest these promises in this world as they are in heaven. 

Lord Jesus, You are Christ the King. The Messiah and Deliverer, who saves Your people from all oppression, evil, and dark ways. The breaker of chains, the conqueror of the pits of hell, and the surety to sinners that they will be with You in heaven this very day.

As You prepare a place for us, we ask that You would bestow upon us Your peace. While we wait: arrest all violence; vanquish all evil; put Satan in a corner. Bring all destruction, erosion, and murder to an end. Make insubordination and disorder no more. So that we might rest in You. 

Holy Spirit, we thank You for the comfort You bring in times of mayhem, terror, and tragedy. We are incessantly erratic–concerned with this and that–and You infuse us with a divine stability that recalibrates our wandering hearts. For Your own glory, make your Church a beacon of hope in this despairing world. 

Spirit of dead bones armies, we pray: lay us down to sleep. Softly put us in the grave of our mattresses. When we are anxious. When we are worried. When our hearts are racing and our minds won’t stop running. Even when we innocently can’t stop planning. Resolve us to rest in You.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You work through what You have created. You bestow invisible grace through visible means. We thank You for the comfort and protection You grant us through our fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, armed forces, military, and local law enforcement. 

We ask that you bless them, keep them, make your face shine upon them, and be gracious to them. For their service. For their sacrifice. But also help us to never forget You. To trust in You. And to rely upon You even when no visible means are in sight. 

In your name we pray.  
Amen.