Bedtime Prayer

David Monje / Unsplash

Throughout my childhood, I often spent the night at my grandparent’s house. I loved them very much. I didn’t love the way they put us to bed. After we were tucked into our beds, my grandmother would close her eyes and say,

“Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray to God my soul to take.”

For whatever reason, she didn’t recite the rest of the prayer. Regardless, what she said was enough for me. I would be terrified. For hours, I would sit there with my eyes open. I just knew I would die if I fell asleep. Of course, I fell asleep. Night has a way of taking us whether we want it to or not. I always wondered if there was something more than those four lines. There is.

In time, I’ve constructed a different bedtime prayer. These outward words of justice and hope help guide me in my wanderings. Often, I repeat them until I fall asleep. I invite you to join me.

“Now I lay me down to rest.

I have tried to do my best.

Don’t let them die before I wake.