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The light is off, the phone is out of reach, and the day you just lived is still running through your head. This quiet moment before sleep is one of the most personal times to pray. You do not need a prayer book. A few simple sentences are enough to hand the night over to God.
A Bedtime Prayer to Say When You Lie Down
Lord, I lie here before you, tired, and the day is behind me.
Into your hands I place everything that went well today and everything I left unfinished.
I do not want to take anger or worry into my sleep. Take them from me, for you keep watch while I rest.
Guard the people I love, in their homes and in their hearts.
Quiet my thoughts, let my body relax, and give me the kind of sleep that restores my strength.
And when I wake in the morning, let my first thought be of you. Amen.
Say it slowly, in a whisper or only in your heart. If you fall asleep in the middle of it, that is perfectly fine.
Short Bedtime Prayers for Falling Asleep
On nights when you have no energy left for a whole prayer, one line from Scripture or Church tradition is enough.
In peace I will sleep
In peace in the selfsame I will sleep, and I will rest.
Psalm 4:9 in the Douay-Rheims translation, meaning in peace I lie down and fall asleep at once. Psalm 4 has belonged to the night prayer of monks since the Rule of St Benedict in the sixth century.
Into your hands
Into thy hands I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth.
A verse from Psalm 31 (Psalm 30 in the Douay-Rheims numbering). Jesus prayed its first half on the cross (Luke 23:46), and the Church repeats it every evening in Night Prayer.
Jesus, I trust in You
Jesus, I trust in You.
These words are written beneath the Divine Mercy image that St Faustina Kowalska had painted. Pope John Paul II canonized her on April 30, 2000.
A Prayer When You Cannot Sleep
Some nights sleep simply does not come. Instead of counting the hours, try a prayer that asks nothing of you except quiet repetition.
Lord Jesus, it is night and I cannot sleep.
My thoughts keep going round in circles and I cannot make them stop.
You invited everyone who is weary and burdened to come to you and find rest.
So I come to you now, with this sleepless night and everything in it.
Stay with me in the quiet and give me your peace. Amen.
The invitation in the third line comes from Matthew 11:28. After the prayer, repeat the Jesus Prayer slowly. The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives its most usual form this way (CCC 2667):
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners.
Many people pray it in the singular, have mercy on me, a sinner, the first half as they breathe in and the second as they breathe out. It is not a sleep technique, just a way of staying with God until sleep arrives.
Prayer does not replace medical care. If insomnia lasts for several weeks or leaves you exhausted, talk to your doctor.
A Night Prayer for Anxiety and Fear
Sometimes the problem is not sleep but fear, about health, money or a teenager who is not home yet.
Father, I am afraid, and in the dark everything looks bigger than it really is.
You see clearly even in the night. Protect my family and the house where we sleep.
I place in your hands what I cannot change. In the morning we will face it together. Amen.
If you lie awake worrying about someone who is seriously ill, you may also find comfort in the St Charbel novena, a devotion many Catholics turn to when praying for the sick.
Examine Your Day in Five Minutes
Before you close your eyes, look back over the day with God. St Ignatius of Loyola described this practice, today called the Examen, in his Spiritual Exercises and considered it the most important of all. His five points fit into a few minutes in bed:
- Give thanks. Name one or two gifts from today, even small ones.
- Ask for light. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see the day honestly.
- Review the day. Let the hours pass before you, what you did, said and thought, and what you failed to do.
- Ask forgiveness. Tell God simply where you fell short.
- Look to tomorrow. Choose one small thing you want to do better, and ask for grace to do it.
On a busy day, one moment of gratitude and one honest sorry are already a real examen.
Bedtime Prayers for Kids
Children learn to pray on the edge of their bed, not from books. When a parent prays beside them, they take away a feeling of safety along with the words.
Angel of God, my guardian dear
The best-known Catholic bedtime prayer for children in the English-speaking world:
Angel of God, my guardian dear,
to whom His love commits me here,
ever this night be at my side,
to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.
Many prayer books name God directly in the second line instead of saying His love, with the same meaning. During the day, pray ever this day instead of ever this night. The text is often attributed to St Anselm, although scholars now trace it to Reginald of Canterbury, a monk who lived at the same time as Anselm (Angel of God). The Church celebrates the Holy Guardian Angels every year on October 2.
Now I lay me down to sleep
Many families also know this short rhyme:
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.
Its earliest known version, beginning Here I lay me down to sleep, appeared in 1698 in The Protestant Monastery by George Wheler. The rhyme became famous through eighteenth century editions of The New England Primer, an American school reader (Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep). Older printings mark the word wake as a shortened form of awake.
Because the third line can frighten small children, many parents use a gentler ending after the first two lines:
Angels watch me through the night,
and wake me with the morning light. Amen.
A short prayer for little ones
Good night, Jesus. Thank you for Mommy, for Daddy and for today.
Keep us all safe while we sleep. Amen.
A prayer for older children
Jesus, today this went well (your child names one thing).
And this did not go so well (your child names another).
Thank you for the good, and please forgive me for what was wrong.
Help me to be a good friend tomorrow. Amen.
A Simple Bedtime Routine With Your Children in 5 Steps
Children feel secure when the evening follows the same order, and prayer becomes as natural as brushing teeth.
1. Quiet the room
Turn off the main light and leave only a small lamp on. Sit on the edge of the bed where your child can see your face.
2. Ask about the day
One question is enough: what was the best part of today? The answer often becomes a thank you your child can say to God.
3. Pray together
One traditional prayer, such as Angel of God, and one sentence in your own words. With small children, you do not need more than that.
4. Pray for others
Let your child name the people they want to pray for, Grandma, a friend from preschool, a sick aunt. If you are expecting another baby, your older child can pray for the little one too, and you will find more ideas in our prayer for pregnancy.
5. Bless your child
Trace a small cross on their forehead with your thumb and say: May the Lord bless you and keep you. These words come from the priestly blessing in the Book of Numbers (6:24).
A Prayer Over Your Sleeping Children
When the children are finally asleep and you look in on them from the doorway, pray quietly:
Lord, look at my children as they sleep.
Thank you for them, and for this day, even for the moments when I ran out of patience.
Forgive me where I let them down today, and give me more love and calm tomorrow.
Guard their sleep, their health and their hearts. Lead them as they learn to take their own steps. Amen.
More prayers for your sons and daughters are in our prayer for my children.
Night Prayer of the Church
For something longer, the Church has its own bedtime prayer. Night Prayer, traditionally called Compline, is the last hour of the Liturgy of the Hours. The name comes from the Latin completorium, the completion of the day. It usually opens with a short examination of conscience, continues with a hymn, psalms and a brief reading, then the responsory Into your hands, Lord, the Canticle of Simeon, a closing prayer, and ends with an antiphon to the Virgin Mary such as the Hail, Holy Queen.
Other families end the day with the Rosary. If you are praying the Pompeii novena, the quiet hour after the children are in bed is a natural time for it.
FAQ
What is a good short bedtime prayer?
A good short bedtime prayer is one you can say even when exhausted. Many Catholics use the verse from Psalm 31, Into thy hands I commend my spirit, which the Church prays every night in Compline. Others simply say Jesus, I trust in You. For children, the classic choice is Angel of God, my guardian dear.
Is it a sin to fall asleep while praying?
No. Falling asleep during prayer is not a sin. God is not angry with you, just as a parent is not angry with a child who falls asleep in their arms. If it happens every night, pray earlier and keep only a short line for when you lie down.
What should I pray when I cannot sleep?
Short phrases you can repeat slowly work best, for example the Jesus Prayer, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner, or the verse from Psalm 4 about sleeping in peace. If sleeplessness continues for weeks, see a doctor.
How do I pray with my child at bedtime?
Keep it short, regular and in the same order every night. Ask about the best moment of the day, pray Angel of God together, let your child pray for someone they love, and finish by blessing them with a small cross on the forehead.
At what age can a child start saying bedtime prayers?
You can pray over your child from birth. A baby does not understand the words but feels your calm and closeness. Once children start talking, they enjoy repeating short lines and soon learn Angel of God by heart.
Is Now I lay me down to sleep a Catholic prayer?
It is not an official Catholic prayer. It comes from English-speaking Protestant tradition, but it expresses simple Christian trust and many Catholic families use it. If the line about dying worries your child, use the gentler ending about angels watching through the night.