Do you have a bedtime prayer? Throughout my childhood I said the one below (and the words are probably my own variation on the original). Here some other bedtime prayers to make for a good, peaceful sleep.
Jesus, tender shepherd, hear me,
Bless this little lamb tonight.
Through the darkness be down near me,
Keep me safe till morning light.
—Mary Duncan
Oh Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed. Then in thy mercy grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest and peace at the last.
—Book of Common Prayer
Ah dearest Jesus, Holy Child,
Make thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Within my heart, that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for thee.
—Martin Luther
Oh Lord, go with each of us to rest; if any awake, temper to them the dark hours of watching; and when the day returns, return to us, our sun and comforter, and call us up with morning faces and with morning hearts, eager to labor, eager to be happy, and if the day be marked for sorrow, strong to endure it.
—Robert Louis Stevenson
Lord, it is night. The night is for stillness.
Let us be still in the presence of God.
It is night after a long day.
What has been done has been done;
What has not been done has not been done; let it be.
The night is dark.
Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you.
The night is quiet.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us, all dear to us, and all who have no peace.
The night heralds the dawn.
Let us look expectantly to a new day, new joys, new possibilities.
In your name, we pray, Amen.
—New Zealand Book of Common Prayer
