Bedtime prayers for adults
A bedtime prayer can be four lines long and still be whole. Below are seven short night prayers written for this page, each anchored to one verse, such as Psalm 4:8, In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep
, and 1 Peter 5:7 for the worries you take to bed. Pray one of them tonight. The page ends with the church’s old practice of night prayer and the blessing from Numbers 6: The LORD bless you, and keep you.
Psalm 4:4
Search your own heart on your bed, and be still.
The oldest bedtime instruction in the Psalms, and the order is worth keeping: look honestly at what is in you, say it to God, then be still. Every prayer below follows that shape.
Psalm 91:1
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
The first line of a psalm the church has prayed at night for well over a thousand years. Its word for the night is rest in a shadow: the shade of someone standing over you.
Psalm 42:8
The LORD will command his loving kindness in the daytime. In the night his song shall be with me: a prayer to the God of my life.
Day belongs to God’s loving kindness, night to his song. If you have no words of your own tonight, this verse calls even a wordless prayer a song.
Psalm 16:7-9
7I will bless the LORD, who has given me counsel. Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons. 8I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices. My body shall also dwell in safety.
The night seasons here are a time of counsel. Lying in the dark, the heart is still being taught. End by saying verse 9 slowly: the body, too, will rest in safety.
Psalm 3:5
I laid myself down and slept. I awakened, for the LORD sustains me.
The morning partner to Psalm 4. Pray the night prayers below in the evening, and say this verse when you wake: you slept, you woke, and you were held all night.
1. When you lie down
For the plain moment of getting into bed, whatever the day was.
In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, LORD, alone, make me live in safety.
Lord, the day is over, finished or not. I lay it down as I lay myself down. You keep watch tonight, so I do not have to. In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep
. Amen.
2. When worries crowd in
Name each worry out loud, or in your head, where the prayer leaves a gap.
casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.
Father, this is what I am carrying tonight: (name them). I put each one in your hands, large and small, because you care for me. Hold them until morning. If I wake and pick one up again, remind me where I left it. Amen.
3. For what went wrong today
For the sharp word, the thing left undone, the day you would like back.
22It is because of the LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail. 23They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
Lord, I did not get today right. You saw the words I should not have said and the good I meant to do and did not. Forgive me. Show me tomorrow what I can mend, and let me sleep tonight without carrying it. They are new every morning.
Amen.
4. For a heavy heart
For grief, disappointment, or a sadness you cannot name.
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Lord, my heart is sore, and I do not have words for all of it. You are near to the broken hearted. Be near to me now. I do not need to be mended before I sleep. Stay close while I rest. Amen.
5. For the people you love
For children asleep down the hall, a parent far away, a friend you are worried about.
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Lord, I bring you the people I love: (name them). Some are near and some are far, and I cannot help all of them tonight. Keep them where I cannot. Watch over their sleep and their waking. I leave them with you and close my eyes. Amen.
6. For a mind that will not stop
For the nights your thoughts run ahead of you.
You will keep whoever’s mind is steadfast in perfect peace, because he trusts in you.
God, my thoughts are running and I cannot stop them by trying. So I turn them toward you, one at a time, and lean my weight on you. Keep my mind in your peace, as you have promised to the one who trusts you. Amen.
7. Thanks at the end of the day
Short enough for the nights you are almost asleep already.
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful.
Lord, thank you for today. For (name one or two good things). Thank you for being here in the hours I will not remember. Let your peace rule in my heart tonight. Amen.
Night prayer is an old practice
Christians have prayed at the close of the day for a very long time. In the old monastic pattern of daily prayer, the last office before sleep is called Compline, from the Latin for completion: the prayer that completes the day. The Rule of Benedict, written in the sixth century, sets the same three psalms for it every night: Psalm 4, Psalm 91 and Psalm 134. Many later forms of Compline also include the song of Simeon from Luke 2, the old man who held the infant Jesus and said he could now depart in peace.
You do not need a prayer book to keep the practice. Read Psalm 4 in full on the Psalm 4:8 page, or Psalm 91 on its own page, then pray one of the prayers above. That is night prayer.
A blessing to end with
The blessing in Numbers 6 was given to Aaron and his sons, the priests, to speak over the people of Israel. It has been spoken over congregations ever since, and many parents say it over a sleeping child. You can pray it over someone beside you, or over yourself, changing you to me.
24‘The LORD bless you, and keep you. 25The LORD make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you. 26The LORD lift up his face toward you, and give you peace.’
Peace is the last word of the blessing. Let it be the last word of your day.
Questions people ask
What is a good prayer before bed for peace?
A short one is best. Read Psalm 4:8, tell God plainly what you are carrying, and end with In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep
. The first prayer on this page follows that shape.
What is night prayer called?
In the church’s traditional pattern of daily prayer, the last office of the day is called Compline. The Rule of Benedict sets Psalms 4, 91 and 134 for it every night.
Is there an evening prayer in the Bible?
The Bible gives no single fixed evening prayer, but Psalm 4 is traditionally read as one, and Psalm 3 as its morning partner. Daniel prayed three times a day, and the blessing in Numbers 6 is often said at night.
Can I pray lying down in bed?
Yes. Psalm 4:4 tells the reader to search their heart on their bed, and Psalm 63:6 describes remembering God on the bed in the night watches. God hears a prayer said lying down.