Proverbs 6
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⁴ Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
⁵ Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

Sleep is a wonderful gift from God to man:

... for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
— Psalms 127:20

God as a 100 % spiritual being doesn't require sleep. However, we are 50% spiritual beings operating in a physical body, we require sleep unlike God.

Our physical body requires sleep for several reasons:

1. For physical growth

2. For physical health

3. For physical rejuvenation

4. For rest/relaxation after work

5. For mental alertness/clarity/peace....etc.

A major reason why God gave man the gift of sleep is to rest his body after work. God didn't create man to idle around, doing nothing, but to be busy using his special gifts and talents:

The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much...
— Ecclesiastes 5:12


After much physical activity, naturally we get tired and our bodies requires sleep.

Unfortunately some people abuse sleep. There are certain people who delight much in sleep; they take sleeping as a hobby. They sleep anyhow and carelessly. Some even brag about their prowess in sleeping.

Now there is nothing wrong with sleeping, but it becomes a serious problem when overdone. Even if you are jobless, there are certain things you can do to keep busy than sleep carelessly for several hours.

In the scriptures, we see some dangers associated with sleep_these scriptures warn us about excessive sleep:

In Acts 20:9, a young man called Euthycus fell asleep and fell to his death from a window while listening to a long sermon by Paul

In Judges 16: 19-22, Delilah made Samson to sleep on her laps and cut his hair which was the secret of his great superhuman strength.

In Judges 4: 18-22, Sisera a fleeing war commander fleeing from the armies of Israel, hid himself in the tent of Jael and fell asleep. But as he slept soundly, Jael's wife killed him with a tent peg.

In Matthew 13:25, Jesus told of a parable of certain farmers who slept off untimely and evil saboteurs crept in and sowed evil crops in their farm.

In 1kings 3:19 a harlot mistakenly overslept and suffocated her only child

From these scriptures we can clearly see that although sleep is good it can also become deadly especially if done in excess.

What is the spiritual danger of sleep?

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
— 1 Peter 5:8

The devil is our main adversary and he has sworn to destroy us.

The devil has several demons and human spirits working actively for him against us and the most convenient time for them to attack us is when we are sleeping.

The spiritual danger of sleep is that it exposes us more than often to satanic attacks (unless we are spiritually prepared before sleeping).

That's why Peter admonishes us to be alert and sober. If we are to be truthful to ourselves we will discover that most of the spiritual attacks we have suffered came while we slept excessively and carelessly.

We must be extremely careful with our sleep if we are going to fully overcome the devil and his agents. Most of the terrible dreams we have had mostly come when we sleep carelessly without God's manifested presence.

In the wild, the roebuck or the deer are very vigilant especially at night when carnivores like lions and tigers roam freely. Despite their amazing speed, they are very watchful and hardly sleep at night. This is why Solomon used them as an example of vigilance in our opening scripture.

My brethren these days are deeply evil, be very careful how you sleep and do not sleep for more than 5 hours at a stretch in 24 hours

Most importantly before sleeping at midnight, spend quality time with God.

Shalom