Psalms for sleep
The psalm written for bedtime is Psalm 4, which ends In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep
. For protection at night people pray Psalm 91; for comfort, Psalm 23; for the sense that someone keeps watch, Psalm 121, where God will neither slumber nor sleep
. Psalm 131, three verses long, is the gentlest of all. Each is below in full.
Psalm 4
1Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness. Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. 2You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor? Will you love vanity, and seek after falsehood? Selah. 3But know that the LORD has set apart for himself him who is godly: the LORD will hear when I call to him. 4Stand in awe, and don’t sin. Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Selah. 5Offer the sacrifices of righteousness. Put your trust in the LORD. 6Many say, “Who will show us any good?” LORD, let the light of your face shine on us. 7You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and their new wine are increased. 8In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, the LORD alone, make me live in safety.
The evening psalm. It begins in distress and ends asleep, which is the shape of a hard night handed over. Verse 4 is a bedtime instruction: search your heart on your bed, and be still.
Psalm 3:5
I laid myself down and slept. I awakened, for the LORD sustains me.
Psalm 4’s morning partner, written while David fled from his son. He lay down with enemies all around and still woke up kept.
Psalm 23
1The LORD is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. 6Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the LORD’s house forever.
The shepherd psalm. Green pastures and still waters are pictures of a flock lying down, which is why it suits bedtime so well. Many people can say it in the dark without reading.
Psalm 91:4-5
He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge. His faithfulness is your shield and rampart. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night…
The psalm of protection, prayed at night prayer for centuries. Read the whole psalm on its page; these two verses are the ones people hold onto in the dark.
Psalm 121
1I will lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? 2My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. 3He will not allow your foot to be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. 4Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5The LORD is your keeper. The LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7The LORD will keep you from all evil. He will keep your soul. 8The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forward, and forever more.
A Song of Ascents, traditionally sung by pilgrims on the way up to Jerusalem. The keeper never sleeps, which frees you to. The last verse covers your going out and your coming in, day and night alike.
Psalm 127:2
It is vain for you to rise up early, to stay up late, eating the bread of toil, for he gives sleep to his loved ones.
Rising early and staying up late does not add what sleep gives. A word for the overworked.
Psalm 131
1LORD, my heart isn’t haughty, nor my eyes lofty; nor do I concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me. 2Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. 3Israel, hope in the LORD, from this time forward and forever more.
A quieted soul like a weaned child with its mother, done fretting and simply resting close. Three verses you can learn in one night.
Psalm 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God.
Spoken over a world in uproar (the whole psalm is mountains shaking and nations raging). Stillness is offered right in the middle of it.
Psalm 63:6-8
6when I remember you on my bed, and think about you in the night watches. 7For you have been my help. I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings. 8My soul stays close to you. Your right hand holds me up.
Written in the wilderness, by someone lying awake. It turns the hours of wakefulness into remembering and resting in the shadow of wings.
Psalm 139:11-12
11If I say, Surely the darkness will overwhelm me; the light around me will be night, 12even the darkness doesn’t hide from you, but the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.
For fear of the dark: the darkness is like light to God.
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 heart instructs in the night seasons, and the body dwells in safety. For a mind that keeps talking after the lights go out.
Psalm 30:5
For his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
Weeping may stay the night. Joy comes in the morning. Honest about tears, sure about dawn.
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.
His song is with me in the night. A good verse for anyone who falls asleep to sung Scripture.
Psalm 119:148
My eyes stay open through the night watches, that I might meditate on your word.
Eyes open through the night watches, used for meditation instead of worry. The verse for the reader who wakes at 3 a.m. and decides to pray.
Why the Psalms are night prayers
The Psalms were Israel’s prayer book, and many of them are set at night or written by people who could not sleep. The church kept that habit. The traditional last prayer service of the day, called Compline or night prayer, has prayed Psalm 4 and Psalm 91 before sleep for well over a thousand years, along with Psalm 134, a short blessing for those who serve the LORD by night.
A psalm suits bedtime for a plain reason: it is already a prayer. You read the words someone else prayed in the dark, and they become yours.
How to pray a psalm in bed
- Pick one psalm from the list. If you cannot choose, choose Psalm 4.
- Read the whole of it once, slowly, out loud if you can.
- Notice the one line that caught. Read only that line again.
- Pray it back in your own words: what it says, and what you need it to be true about tonight.
- Keep that line and let it repeat as you breathe out, or open it in the quiet room and put the phone face down.
Which psalm for which night
- Afraid of something real: Psalm 3 and Psalm 91.
- Anxious and tired: Psalm 4 and Psalm 131.
- Grieving: Psalm 30 and Psalm 34 (on Psalm 34:18).
- Lying awake for hours: Psalm 63 and Psalm 16.
- Worn out from work: Psalm 127.
- Saying it with a child: Psalm 23, then Psalm 4:8.
Questions people ask
What psalm is for sleep?
Psalm 4 is the evening psalm and ends with lying down in peace to sleep. Psalm 3 is its morning partner. Psalms 23, 91, 121 and 131 are the others most often prayed at bedtime.
Why do people read Psalm 91 at night?
Verse 5 speaks to the night directly: You shall not be afraid of the terror by night
. Psalm 91 has been part of the church’s night prayer for centuries, so it carries a long habit of bedtime use.
Is Psalm 23 good for sleep?
Yes, for many people it is the easiest psalm at night because it is already known by heart. Its second verse is a picture of rest: He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
What psalm should I read when I can’t sleep?
Psalm 63 was written by someone lying awake, remembering God in the night watches. Psalm 4 is the classic bedtime psalm. The can’t sleep page has more for long nights.