O Lord our God,
if I have sinned this day in word, deed, or thought,
forgive me all, for thou art good
and lovest mankind.
Grant me peaceful and undisturbed sleep;
send me thy guardian angel
to protect and guard me from all evil.
For thou art the guardian of our souls and bodies,
and to thee we ascribe glory,
to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
now and ever and unto the ages of ages.
Amen.
ORTHODOX TRADITIONAL; COMPILED IN CURRENT FORM BY 19TH CENTURY AD
Prayer at the End of the Day
Also known as Orthodox Evening Prayer ยท Prayer Before Sleep
About this prayer
Orthodox evening prayers are said before sleep, reviewing the day and preparing for rest. They form part of a larger evening prayer rule that typically includes the Trisagion Prayers, a penitential psalm, the Nicene Creed, and prayers for the night. The prayer given here is the central personal prayer of the Orthodox evening rule. It asks forgiveness for sins committed during the day, grants forgiveness to others, and commits the night's sleep to God's protection. In Orthodox spirituality, sleep is regarded as an image of death; to sleep is to entrust oneself to God as one will eventually entrust oneself to God in death. Evening prayer therefore has a double character: thanksgiving for the day completed and preparation for the vulnerability of sleep.
When it's said
This prayer is said as part of the evening prayer rule, before sleep. The full Orthodox evening rule includes the Trisagion Prayers, Psalm 50 (51), the Nicene Creed, this prayer, and the prayer to the Guardian Angel. The rule concludes with prayers for the departed. A shorter rule includes only the Trisagion Prayers and this prayer.
Notes on the text
The phrase 'in word, deed, or thought' is a standard Orthodox formula for comprehensive confession of sin, covering the three ways a person can offend against God. The request for a guardian angel mirrors the morning Prayer to the Guardian Angel and frames the day as a period of divine protection from waking to sleeping.
Source
Traditional Orthodox evening prayer. English text from the Orthodox Church in America Prayer Book, 1979. Public domain.
Last reviewed: May 2026 against primary source.