Daily Devotionals for Women - Today's Encouraging Word from Scripture

Your Nightly Prayer

Surrendering the ‘Tygers’ That Haunt You
Your Nightly Prayer for Jan. 31, 2025
by Chris Eyte

TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE

“My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions.”- Daniel 6:22a

SOMETHING TO PONDER

In my opinion, bedtime routines in my household resemble planning for an immense army maneuver. It’s never a simple case of “goodnight” and lights off. First, persuasion is needed - getting the kids to turn off computer games, end conversations with friends, or prevent them from doing another cartwheel competition. The second round consists of making sure teeth are brushed. “Have you brushed your teeth?” is asked about eight times. Thirdly, there is the mismanagement of pajamas. It’s never a simple case of the children getting changed. They appear half-dressed, hopping with one sock on, asking us the whereabouts of favorite toys, cuddly items, or electric plugs. Lastly, we come to prayers, which involves getting through our devotions whilst coping with little people dancing, standing on their heads, or asking out-of-context questions. At the end of prayer time, the bartering and persuasions begin. As we attempt to get them all to bed, it’s common for one of our offspring to inform me that they had wet the bed 24 hours previously.

Finally, we leave the youngsters to settle, staggering into our own beds whilst they use the opportunity of our absence to stage some upstairs pantomime. I plead for silence. My wife falls asleep in no time at all. A yawn, a blink of eyes - and she’s in another world.

Meanwhile, I lie there staring at the ceiling and start to sense ghosts. I don’t mean real ghosts but the pressures of the mind. As the house falls silent, I become hyper-alert. Memories of loved ones now gone, concerns about the day just spent and the uncertainty of tomorrow, worries about my sugar levels for diabetes, a general sense of dreadfulness. It’s like I am a guard on duty, keeping awake in case of terror strikes.

Surely William Blake’s ‘The Tyger’ poem depicts such psychological disturbances vividly, at least from my perspective: ‘Tyger Tyger, burning bright, In the forests of the night; What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?’ Perhaps I am not the only one who finds themselves on ‘guard duty’ while everyone else sleeps? You just feel that you need to stay awake to keep safe, to keep everyone else safe, too.

However, the God who loves us is more than able to shut the mouths of lions and ‘tygers.’ He is all-powerful and able to look after us at the end of the day, in the Moonshine hours, when our tired flesh finally falls into a disturbed slumber. Your God and my God watch over you and me. Let’s trust him and sleep.

YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER

Father God,
It is your “symmetry”, and yours alone, which is to be feared and not the lions and “tygers” of the night. You love me, and I can trust you. I choose to put my tired mind into your hands and embrace true rest in the hours ahead. I know that as I sleep, your presence is hovering over me. I praise you!
Amen.

THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON

Is your bedtime routine healthy? How can it be made better?
How important is it for you to read the Bible before you sleep?
Do you need to talk with a trusted Christian friend about the “tygers” haunting you?

Christopher Eyte lives with his wife Céline and three children in Swansea, Wales, UK. He has worked as a journalist for many years and writes his own blog (hislovefrees.life) encouraging others in their walk with Jesus. He became a Christian in February 2002, after a friend explained God's amazing grace!

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