Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep — The Classic Bedtime Prayer

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.

Amen.

About This Prayer

This is probably the most famous children's prayer in the English language. It appeared in print in the New England Primer in the 18th century, the little schoolbook from which generations of colonial American children learned to read, and it has been passed from parent to child ever since. Its third line sounds stark to modern ears, so many families today soften it — "guard me safely through the night, and wake me with the morning light" — but the heart of the prayer is unchanged: a child placing body and soul in God's keeping before sleep.

When to Pray This

Pray it with children as the last words of the day, right after tuck-in; the steady rhyme itself is calming. Use whichever version fits your family — what matters is the nightly habit of ending the day in God's hands.

A Verse to Hold On To

"I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety." — Psalm 4:8 (KJV)