Hello there my dear Rosary lovers! In this post we will look at praying the Rosary in bed.
What is your favourite posture or place to pray in? Do you ever pray in bed?
Nothing wrong with praying in bed
I love praying in bed. It may seem lazy, but I have found no Church teaching which says that praying in bed is wrong or insufficient.
I take refuge in the words of King David in the Psalms. He said: ‘I water my bed with tears in prayer,’ (Psalm 6:6) and, ‘In my bed I think of You, O Lord,’ (Psalm 63:3).
It’s obvious that King David prayed to God when he was in his bed. And why not? St Paul tells us to pray without ceasing, and you can’t do that unless you pray when you’re in bed.
The first thing we should do when we wake in the morning is to pray: to thank God or speak to God. I always do the sign of the cross as soon as I wake up, and I almost always do it before getting out of bed.
The only time it would perhaps be insufficient to pray in bed is if you know that by praying in bed you will be too sleepy or distracted to focus on praying.
If you know from experience that as soon as your head hits the pillow you are going to drop off during your prayers, perhaps it is best for you to pray in another place and in another position!
I love praying in bed
I am lucky enough to find praying on my bed a great blessing. It’s so comfortable that I find meditation much easier.
Most of the time I don’t find it hard to stay alert and focused. In fact, I am often much more focused when I pray in bed than in other places or in other postures.
Do what works for YOU, not what works for others
Of course, it goes without saying that we need to know ourselves and know what works for us and what doesn’t. I may find it very easy to pray the Rosary in bed. Others may find this a great challenge, since being in bed might make them want to fall immediately into a deep sleep.
I find it very hard to pray the Rosary with my vocal cords. For years I have had difficulty with my throat and I get sore throats if I use my vocal cords to read aloud or pray aloud.
I marvel that there are many people out there who pray the Rosary daily saying all the words audibly. I could never do this, not even for one Rosary.
I also find kneeling in prayer for extended periods hard. Praying on my knees is not something I do often, though I could do this more, and I find it a beautiful blessing when I do.
Making the most of the Rosary in bed
Just over the last half an hour or so I’ve been in bed, listening to a recitation of the Rosary from a podcast. I use this one, it’s the very best one I have found.
It’s so enjoyable and simple to pray the Rosary this way, you can get through two Rosaries in a single 25 minutes doing this. Just lie back and listen. Let it wash over you.
What’s also great about doing this is that you can get onto the web and search for images of the mystery you are meditating on. You can search for images of the Scourging at the pillar, or the Resurrection. So many pictures are freely available on the internet to help you meditate on the mystery.
What an age we live in!
We live in an amazing age, where it has never been so easy to meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary.
There are so many opportunities for us to purchase incredible rosaries that can help us in our lives, such as here.
We have the internet at the touch of a button, to learn very quickly how to pray the Rosary well.
I’ve heard it even said that we live in an age when it is possible for us to be greater than the saints of the past, because they only had 15 decades of the Rosary. Today, we have 20 decades of the Rosary! So perhaps – just maybe – God is calling many of us to even greater sanctity than the saints of old.
So there we are
Anyway, I find praying the Rosary in bed really helpful. If I didn’t find it helpful, I wouldn’t do it.
I struggle a lot to pray the Rosary whilst sitting still on a sofa, and usually I end up pacing around a dark room whilst praying it. Lying in bed is frankly the most comfortable way to pray it.
In fact, my two favourite ways to pray the Rosary are lying down comfortably in bed, and whilst out having a walk, preferably in the woods.
How do you like to pray the Rosary? What is your favourite posture for praying it? Do you ever pray it lying in bed? I’d like to know, so please get in touch!
Hope this has been helpful. God bless you 🙂