For many of us, one of the first prayers we learned as little children was after the sun went down, as we knelt with our parents beside our bed, asking the Lord to grant us sleep as He watched over us through the night. We prayed …
Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.
How wonderful to know that while troubles swirl around us, we can trust the Lord to keep us secure under His powerful, watchful care.
In Psalm 4, we call on the Lord to come to our aid when we are in distress. “Be gracious to me and hear my prayer” (vs. 1). “Lift up the light of Your face upon us, O LORD!” (vs. 6). And in the awareness of all the hostile challenges that are arrayed against us, we rest in the confidence that He will care for us as we rest peacefully, trusting in His fatherly care and goodness. “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety” (vs. 8).