Have you ever needed peace of mind? Has peace alluded you? As if peace was just within your grasp, but faded away at the last second. It seems that an absence of peace, effects our sleep more than any other part of our life.

Ever felt this way?

Sleep studies have been made, for example: “According to the National Institutes of Health, 50 to 70 million Americans are affected by chronic sleep disorders and intermittent sleep problems that can significantly diminish health, alertness and safety. Untreated sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, heart disease, stroke, depression, diabetes and other chronic diseases. Sleep problems can take many forms and can involve too little sleep, too much sleep or inadequate quality of sleep.”

“The Institute of Medicine recently estimated in its report, Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem, that “hundreds of billions of dollars a year are spent on direct medical costs related to sleep disorders such as doctor visits, hospital services, prescriptions, and over-the-counter medications.” Sleep problems and lack of sleep can affect everything from personal and work productivity to behavioral and relationship problems. Sleep problems can have serious consequences. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drowsy driving claims more than 1,500 lives and causes at least 100,000 motor vehicle crashes each year.”

In fact,  drug companies seem to be releasing new sleep medications weekly. I even have Tylenol PM in my cabinet. The wide sales of sleep drugs tell us that the state of the human soul is restless. In America, we push ourselves to the brink of sanity, seeking adventure, pleasure and the next buzz.

I was driving all night, on the way to Florida from Michigan when I came to the end of my ability to stay awake. I pulled into Love’s truck stop at 4 am, tired and falling down. I took four NoDoz tablets and chased it with a quart of coffee. I was good for a few hundred miles beyond my final destination. I was sleepless.

But the kind of peace I am talking about goes beyond a cup of coffee. This peace of mind is a sense of wholeness. A settled confidence that I have no inner conflict between my actions and my value system. When I am living in agreement between God and my heart, I will have peace of mind. The mind, a part of your soul, can torment you like no other organ.

Have you ever had day and night torments, with a restless days and a sleepless nights, because you choose to compromise your conscience and make a feel good choice, that brought conflict into your soul? I think they wrote a song for us in the sixties that sounded something like, “…how could something that feels so good… be so wrong…”

Let me give you five simple steps to get your peace of mind back.

But first, you must remember that God made your soul and your conscience. The conflicts come because you violate his commands and believe that you can determine for yourself what is good and evil, or what is right and wrong. When you reserve the right to make these decisions on your own, you get on a street car named desire, and put yourself on the race track of confusion. This entitles you to the shakes of overflowing adrenaline as you are circling at great speeds, and going nowhere fast.

Quietly

How do you get the peace of mind? Try these steps. I have… and they work!

Step #1 –  Agree with God that he made you and he has the right to tell you what is good and what is evil. You can pray this prayer out loud to activate this. “Dear God, I have made my own choice and now I am in conflict against you and against my soul. I confess that the choice I made to _____________ (this is the action that violated your conscience and caused you to feel hollow inside when you were finished with it) is a sin against you and was in violation to your word and my conscience. Will you bring the blood of Jesus right now and cleanse me from this sin in Jesus name? Thank you for your forgiveness.”

Step #2 – Agree with God that you will choose to walk in his ways and give forgiveness to anyone who participated with you in this sin. This pray will help you, so pray it out loud. “Dear God, I choose to forgive ________ (the people who participated with you in this action, even if it was done only by yourself) for the part they played in either persuading me or helping me to fulfill my desires. And I choose to repent for any judgment I hold toward them, for what they have done, and any attitude I hold that would want them to pay for what they have done. In Jesus name, I sever any unrighteous connection between me and this other person, whether physical or spiritual. I choose to release back to that person any part of them that is in me. I give it back to them in the name of Jesus. Amen.”

Step #3 – Agree with God to seal you with his Holy Spirit. This prayer will be like this. “Dear Jesus, will you bring the Holy Spirit right now and seal me with his purity and holiness. Will you impart to me the Spirit of burning and justice to cleanse me, and will you fill me right now with the Holy Spirit’s virtue and power? Will you please give me the mind of Christ? Will you write your laws on my heart and cause me to walk in your ways? Thank you in Jesus’ name Amen.”

Step #4 – Now take some time and memorize Psalm 23. The greater the inner conflict, the more you will need to trust the Lord. “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul: he leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and staff they comfort me.”

Step #5 – Lastly try different kinds of music, usually more relaxing music, until you find some that will help as you pray. Here try this link out, you may find this music soothing… Off Shore

"Be careful for nothing;

but in every thing by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving

let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God,

which passeth all understanding,

shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)

You are on your way to peace of mind. Now choose to think his thoughts after him, this is where peace reigns.