Vacations are wonderful, but have you ever noticed that sometimes—even after the beach trip, mountain retreat, or family getaway—you return home just as weary as before? In this evening's prayer and devotional, we reflect on the fact that true rest doesn’t come from a location; it comes from a Person.

From the very beginning, God designed us to work from rest. Adam and Eve began their first full day on earth not with activity but with God’s rest. Yet after the Fall, we flipped the pattern—we work endlessly, striving and straining, hoping for rest at the end.

Jesus calls us back to God’s original design. In Him, we begin with rest and live from it. His invitation is not a temporary escape but a permanent reality. His rest is deeper than relaxation; it’s a soul-level renewal that no vacation can provide. When we accept His call, we trade striving for stillness, pressure for peace, and restlessness for His unshakable presence.

The rest you long for has always been Jesus Himself.

📖 Tonight’s Scripture: Matthew 11:28

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
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🙏 Your Nightly Prayer

Heavenly Father,
I confess how often I strive and chase after rest in places that can’t satisfy. Thank You for sending Your Son, who offers true rest for my weary soul. Tonight, I come to You with my burdens and lay them down. Quiet my anxious heart, anchor me in Your love, and teach me to live from the rest that only You can give. May I walk tomorrow not from exhaustion, but from the fullness of Your peace.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

🧘 Three Things to Meditate Upon

1. Think back—have you ever returned from a vacation still weary? What does that reveal about the rest your soul truly needs?

2. How might living from Christ’s rest instead of striving toward it change the way you go about your daily tasks?

3. What would it look like to see vacations and breaks not as your only source of peace, but as extensions of the deeper rest you already have in Jesus?

📣 Calls to Action

• 💌 Subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer in your inbox every evening: Click Here

• 📖 Read Hebrews 4:9–11 and reflect on God’s promise of eternal rest.

• 🔗 Share this prayer with someone who might be weary and in need of encouragement tonight.

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