night prayer | Prayerscapes Blog

Today I’m going to be sharing with you three things that I find really helpful to remember when I pray at bedtime.

Personally, I always try and pray to my Abba Father at night. I guess it evokes that security and protection you can feel as a child drifting off to sleep. I’d like to say that there is routine and consistency in the prayers I pray before bed. However, I have many ways I use depending on how things are for me. So here I’m going to share three different ways that I pray before sleep and you can pick and choose the ones that work for you. Our Abba Father won’t mind!

I have found that writing a prayer journal at this time of day can be a great way of connecting with God. I don’t date it like a diary or keep to a page a day! I guess if you are the kind of organised person you might want to do this. I find that as I pray this way, God then leads my heart. Sometimes a scripture or word comes into my mind that releases me, other times I allow God to remind my heart of others who need my prayer. Prayer journals are a lovely way to see the many ways God answers as you look back on them. We have a blog and video that you can watch on how to keep a prayer journals – follow this link to find out more.

The second way that I pray at bedtime is by praying as I drift off to sleep. There is a risk here as once the light is off and you snuggle down sleep might overtake you! When I pray this way, I tend to find that my prayers reflect my needs. If I have lots of worries, I won’t get to sleep early anyway. To be honest I think I generally pray this way when I am tired, exhausted or feeling overwhelmed. Much of this time is just spent allowing feelings to surface, asking for God to help in these areas and sometimes a little tear or two falls as well. Remember that in these times releasing your emotions is not a negative thing. It’s healthy for you, and the Holy Spirit will minister to you. He is our comforter! Just remember to keep being completely open to God. Give him your concerns, your hopes, your fears, and your dreams. God hears you and will respond to your prayers.

Lastly, for some reason or other I sometimes find I can’t pray. If this is so, I imagine myself falling asleep in God’s hands, curled up safe and secure. He holds all of me, His love enfolds me. This is enough in very broken times. Sometimes when we are feeling down or shameful we feel we can’t possibly connect with God. But this is a lie. God always wants to take time to embrace and love us, regardless of what has happened or how we are feeling.

Parent cradling infant - original artwork in pastels by Julie Palmer — “Held” – download a higher resolution version by clicking here

So in summary, remember these three ideas before bedtime – try keeping a prayer journal, or try starting one, it’s a great way of connecting with our living God. Try just pouring out your heart to God as you drift off to sleep. And if life is especially hard, just remind yourself that you are always in God’s care, regardless of how you feel, or what you have done or not done. God loves you! We might not always be able to talk to God, but God is always there for us.

We also have a short creative prayer video meditation that you can use before going to bed – click here to watch this. Do you have any ways of praying at night that you’d like to share with us? Do write them down below. And until next time, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Sometimes life can feel exhausting by the time evening arrives! With the fading light and a jumble of experiences to sift through from the day we can often feel fatigued, tired, even overwhelmed. It can be easy to block out all these thoughts with a good book or a T.V. show or just some internet browsing. Sometimes I find during the tough seasons in life that drawing near to God becomes a two second prayer as my head hits the pillow for sleep! Yet deep down I know what my soul needs the most. Unless I feast upon some heavenly peace at night time I will feel empty on waking.

A bedtime prayer need not be a prayer of detail. God does not need our prayers of worship – it is us who need communion and intimacy with God. Taking time to rest, to breathe a little slower, to look and to listen can take us to a new level of peace that the fast fixes of our media world cannot reach. Before bedtime, why not take a short evening stroll in the countryside, see the sun go down or watch a flicking candle during a long bath? All these things can be a way to draw close to God and lead us gently into the Lord’s presence.

I pray that tonight whether you are in a place of hope and security or a place of struggle and hardship, this short evening prayer will help you lay down to sleep in the shelter and security of our Lord Almighty:-

Dear Father in Heaven,

Here, safe with you, I drink in your peace. Help me to sift through the many experiences, feelings and thoughts I have encountered today. I allow myself to rest, to wind down and to be still. Help me to surrender all I am to you, my fatigue, my concerns, my hopes and fears.
As I sleep tonight, I choose to hold your hand. I choose to live with you. I choose to believe, I choose to trust, I choose you always.

Amen.