Watch over me, Lord, as I sleep this night.
Guard me from all harm and danger,
and let your angels keep watch around me.
Forgive me the sins of this day,
and grant me your peace.
If I wake, let me rise to serve you;
if I should not wake,
receive my soul into your care.
I commit myself to you:
my body, my soul, and all I love.
In you alone I rest,
through Jesus Christ my Lord.
Amen.
PROTESTANT PROTESTANT DEVOTIONAL TRADITION
A Bedtime Prayer
Also known as Evening Prayer Before Sleep ยท Night Prayer for Children and Families
About this prayer
The practice of bedtime prayer is one of the oldest habits of Christian piety, rooted in the ancient liturgical offices of Compline and Night Prayer and continued in Protestant households as part of daily family devotion. Luther's Small Catechism (1529) appointed an evening prayer for Lutherans, and the tradition of a brief prayer before sleep has been maintained across virtually all Christian traditions. A bedtime prayer combines thanksgiving for the day, confession of sin, petition for protection through the night, and trust in God's care whatever the coming hours hold. For children and families, it also serves as a moment of Christian formation, teaching trust in God from the earliest years.
When it's said
This prayer is said by children and adults at bedtime in Protestant and broadly Christian households. It is one of the simplest and most universal of Christian prayers and has countless parallel forms across traditions. Many parents teach this prayer to their children as their first personal prayer before sleep. It is also suitable for use in care homes, hospitals, and anywhere that a simple evening prayer is needed.
Notes on the text
The petition 'if I should not wake, receive my soul into your care' confronts the possibility of death with Christian equanimity, reflecting the traditional Christian view that death is a passage into God's keeping rather than an end. The phrase 'let your angels keep watch' echoes Psalm 91:11 and the teaching on angelic protection present in Lutheran and many other catechetical traditions. 'I commit myself to you' is the night-time equivalent of Psalm 31:5 and Luke 23:46.
Source
Protestant devotional tradition. Public domain.
Last reviewed: May 2026 against primary source.