A Prayer Before Sleep

Blessed Creator

You have promised me beloved sleep;

Give me restoring rest needful for tomorrow’s labor.

If dreams be mine, let them not be tinged with lust.

Let thy Spirit make my time of rest a blessed temple of His Holy presence.

May my frequent lying down make me familiar with death,

The bed I approach remind me of the grave,

The eyes I now close picture my final closing.

Keep me always ready, waiting for admittance to thy presence.

Weaken my attachment to earthly things.

May I hold life loosely in my hand,

knowing that I receive it on condition of its surrender;

As pain and suffering remind me of poor health,

May I not shrink from death that introduces me to the

freshness of eternal youth.

I retire this evening in full assurance of one day awaking with Thee.

All glory for this precious hope;

For the gospel of grace,

For the unspeakable gift of Jesus,

For the fellowship of the Trinity.

Withhold not thy mercies in the night season;

Your hand never wearies,

Your power needs no rest,

Your eye never sleeps.

Help me when I lie helpless;

When my conscience accuses me of sin,

When my mind is harassed by painful thoughts,

When my eyes are held awake by personal anxieties.

Show thyself to me as the God of all grace, love, and power;

You have healing for every wound,

Comfort for all anguish,

A remedy for every pain,

A peace for all worries.

Permit me to commit myself to You awake or asleep.