As the day ends
Lord, the day is ending, and I bring it back to You. Thank You for what went well: the work that got done, the food on the table, the people who made me laugh. Forgive me for what went wrong: the sharp word, the thing I left undone, the moments I forgot You were with me. I cannot change today now, and I do not have to carry it into tomorrow. Make the rest of this evening peaceful. Let my prayer rise to You like incense. Amen.
“Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”
Night prayer before bed
For the last minute before the light goes out. The church has a set prayer for this moment too: Night Prayer, also called Compline, the last prayer of the day before going to bed. Catholics pray it in the Liturgy of the Hours, and the Church of England has its own form. In the Catholic Night Prayer, Psalm 4 is one of the psalms, and the short response comes from Psalm 31:5: “Into thine hand I commit my spirit” (Psalm 31:5, KJV).
Before I turn out the light
Father, I am lying down now, and I am leaving the day with You. Watch over this house and everyone in it, and the people I love who are far away tonight. Guard the doors I locked and the ones I cannot lock: my mind, my dreams, my fears. You never sleep, so I can. I put my body, my worries and tomorrow into Your hands. Give me rest, and wake me in Your mercy. Amen.
“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
Prayer for sleep
For when you are tired but your body will not settle. Breathe slowly, and pray it twice if you need to.
For deep, restful sleep
Lord, You made my body to rest, and tonight I need it. Quiet the hum in my head. Loosen my shoulders and slow my breathing. I give You the conversation I keep replaying and the list I keep checking. They will still be there in the morning, and so will You. Rest is Your gift, not a test I have to pass, so I ask You for it now. Let me sleep deeply and wake up restored. Amen.
“When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”
If silence makes your thoughts louder, try listening to a psalm instead of lying in the quiet. Psalms 4, 23, 91 and 121 are good company at night. In Faithero you can have any chapter read aloud by your iPhone's voices, and a sleep timer stops it for you. Our page on listening to the Bible has more.
Prayer for a restless or anxious night
For nights when your mind races, or when you wake at 3 a.m. and the worries are waiting. You do not need to pray well. Hand things over one at a time. If worry keeps you awake night after night, talk to a doctor too; that is wisdom, not weak faith. You will find more help in these prayers for anxiety.
When my mind will not stop
Jesus, my mind will not stop. Every worry I pushed away today is lining up now, so I am going to give them to You one by one. Here is the first. Here is the next. I cannot solve these tonight, and You are not asking me to. If there is someone I need to forgive before I can rest, help me let it go. If there is something I need to confess, I confess it now. You care about me more than I care about any of this. Hold the rest until morning. Amen.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
When I wake in the night
Lord, it is the middle of the night and I am awake again. Everything feels bigger in the dark. Remind me that You are here in the dark too. You are awake and watching, and You are not worried. I will lie here and rest in You, even if sleep is slow to come. If my thoughts wander, let them wander toward You. Amen.
“He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.”
Bedtime prayers for kids
Short prayers children can learn by heart, and one for older kids to pray in their own words. Let them add their own thank-yous and the names of the people they love.
A bedtime prayer for little ones
Thank You, God, for this good day, for food and friends and time to play. Forgive the wrong things I have done, and bless my family, every one. Stay close to me while I'm asleep; I'm small, but I am Yours to keep. Amen.
“I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.”
A bedtime prayer for older kids
God, thanks for today. The best part was (say it), and the hardest part was (say it). You already know both, but I want to tell You anyway. Please help me with what I am worried about for tomorrow. Help me be a good friend, and help me be brave if something goes wrong. Watch over my family and my friends tonight. Thank You that the dark is not dark to You, and that You never leave me. Amen.
“Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.”
Many families still teach the traditional bedtime prayer printed in The New England Primer, a children's reading book from colonial America. These are its words in a 1750 edition, with modern spelling, capitals and punctuation:
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.The New England Primer, 1750 edition
If the third line worries your child, you can end with gentler words of your own, such as: “Keep me safe until the day, and bless my family, Lord, I pray.” Either way, the heart of the prayer is trust: whatever happens, I belong to God.
Looking back on the day
Be still
Sit or lie quietly for a moment and remember that God is with you. Psalm 4:4 puts it simply: “commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still” (Psalm 4:4, KJV).
Give thanks
Walk back through the day from morning to now, and thank God for three specific things, however small: a meal, a kind message, a job finished.
Be honest
Notice where you fell short or drifted from God. Name it plainly and ask His forgiveness. If you need to make something right with someone, decide to do it tomorrow.
Let it go
Hand God whatever is unfinished, then rest. You can end with the words of Psalm 31:5 above, which Jesus echoed on the cross (Luke 23:46).
This kind of review is an old Christian habit. Many know it as the Examen: Ignatius of Loyola described it in his Spiritual Exercises and asked his Jesuits to pray it at noon and at the end of each day. Here is a short prayer to close the day the same way.
To close the day
Lord, I am looking back over today with You. Thank You for the good things in it; I saw You in them, even if I did not stop to say so. Search my heart now. Where I was proud, impatient or unkind, forgive me. Where someone hurt me, help me not to carry it to bed. Where I need to make something right, give me courage tomorrow. What is unfinished, I leave with You. You were with me this morning, You are with me now, and You will be with me while I sleep. Amen.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Frequently asked
What is a good short prayer before bed?
Try this: “Lord, thank You for today. Forgive me where I went wrong. I leave tomorrow with You. Watch over me and the people I love tonight. Amen.” It does what most bedtime prayers do: it gives thanks, lets go and trusts. If you fall asleep halfway through, that is all right.
What is the difference between evening prayer and night prayer?
In everyday speech they mean the same thing: praying at the end of the day. In the church's set daily prayer they are two services. In the Catholic Liturgy of the Hours, Evening Prayer (Vespers) is prayed in the evening, and Night Prayer (Compline) is the last prayer of the day, said before going to bed. The Church of England also prays both, Evening Prayer and Night Prayer (Compline).
What Bible verse can I pray when I can't sleep?
Psalm 4:8 is the classic bedtime verse. Psalm 116:7 is a good one to say slowly in the dark: “Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee” (Psalm 116:7, KJV). Psalm 63:6 turns a sleepless night into prayer: “When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches” (Psalm 63:6, KJV). And Psalm 121 reminds you that the God who keeps you never sleeps.
Is it OK to fall asleep while praying?
Yes. God is not offended when a tired child of His drifts off mid-sentence. Psalm 127:2 says “he giveth his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2, KJV): rest is His gift. If you often fall asleep before you pray, try praying a little earlier in the evening, or sitting up for the first minute, and then let the rest of your prayer carry you to sleep.
What prayer can I teach my child at bedtime?
Keep it short, warm and easy to repeat. A good pattern for children is: thank You for today, I'm sorry for what I did wrong, please keep me and my family safe tonight. Many families also teach the traditional “Now I lay me down to sleep,” printed in The New England Primer in the 1700s. Let your child add their own thank-yous and the names of people they love.
Why do Christians pray at night?
The end of the day is a natural time to thank God, confess what went wrong and trust Him with the dark. The Psalms are full of prayers said in bed and in the night, and before Jesus chose His twelve apostles, He “continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12, KJV).
Going to sleep is an act of trust
For several hours every night you cannot guard anything: not your home, not your plans, not the people you love. Going to sleep means letting go of control, which is why worry fights it so hard.
The Bible treats sleep as a quiet act of faith. The heading of Psalm 3 says David prayed it when he fled from his own son Absalom, and still he could say that he lay down, slept and woke again, because the Lord held him up. Psalm 4 ends the same way, with peace and sleep. Tonight, when you turn out the light, you can do what David did: leave the watch to God, who never sleeps.
Evening prayer
For the end of the workday, after dinner, or in the quiet once the house settles: thanks for the day, honesty about it, and an open hand for the evening that is left.