When I was growing up, my mother taught my sisters and me how to pray before we went to sleep. As we climbed into our beds and prepared to hear a story, my mother would recite the prayer with us.
I remember closing my eyes and reciting the words, finding comfort in the familiar rhyme and statements. Although I did not understand all the words, learning to pray was a significant milestone in my faith journey.
Now that I am an adult and a believer in Christ, I understand that praying is not about reciting memorized words. Instead, prayer is part of being in a relationship with the Lord and talking to Him. We can pray to Him anytime and anywhere.
Of course, the process of learning prayers as a child can help an individual understand the importance of praying to God and turning to Him when afraid or uncertain. These types of prayers were important to me as a child.
By reciting a prayer before bed, I understood that God existed, He could hear me, and I could talk to Him. Thus, teaching prayers to children can set a crucial foundation for faith and pave the way for kids to trust in Christ for salvation.
Parents may choose to recite memorized prayers with their children or encourage them to talk to God alone. As they grow older, children should be encouraged to talk to God openly from the heart, as they would a friend.
During these times, parents can model the practice of prayer for their children, showing them that praying is an essential part of being in a relationship with the Lord.
Until kids get older and understand they can talk to the Lord personally, parents can teach children prayers to recite, as many parents have done throughout the years.
As with other things, such as Bible stories or hymns, going through the prayer with the child and explaining words and phrases, can help the child comprehend what he or she is reciting.
Let’s look at seven goodnight prayers for your children, that you can either teach them to recite alone or with you.
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1. A Classic Bedtime Prayer
The prayer that my mother taught me and my sisters to recite was the classic bedtime prayer, “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.” This rhyming prayer came from The New England Primer, which was first published in 1688 by Benjamin Harris.
The primer became an important textbook for colonials and early Americans, reflecting the Puritan theology of the time. Excerpts from the Bible, like the Lord’s Prayer, and historic creeds, were also part of the primer.
The traditional version of “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep,” includes archaic language and is not the best choice for children. Although there are many variations of the prayer, the commonly used modern version reads:
“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord, my soul to keep; If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord, my soul to take.”
Since this prayer is not in Scripture, parents can choose whether to use the prayer. As an adult believer, I recognize that parents could have issues with the wording, as young ones will likely not understand the abstract concept of a soul.
Also, kids could get confused with the theology of the prayer. Small children who cannot understand the gospel or place trust in Christ are safe in the Lord’s keeping.
However, children could mistakenly believe that everyone goes to heaven when they die because they “pray the Lord, my soul to take.”
Overall, “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep” could be a good starting prayer for small children. I prayed these words every night before going to sleep and learned that God hears and cares for me.
Again, parents should practice discernment and decide, based on the Bible, if they want to teach this prayer to their children.
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2. A Prayer for Rest and Peace
Many traditional prayers for children follow a rhyming scheme that is easy to memorize. Lullabies and hymns also have rhymes, and the recognizable pattern of these songs makes them easily adaptable as prayers for little ones. One such hymn that parents could adapt into a prayer for children is “All Through the Night.”
There are many lines in this hymn, which could be confusing for children. Also, the part about guardian angels protecting children might make kids focus too much on angels and forget that God protects them.
Instead of using the entire hymn, a specific part would work well as a prayer that parents could either pronounce over their children or recite with them. The first two lines read:
“Sleep, my child, and peace attend thee All through the night.”
If a parent chose to say these words over their little ones, they could easily remove “thee” and address the prayer to God. In this way, the prayer would read: “Lord, I pray for sleep and peace to attend my child all through the night.”
To help a child recite the prayer, the words could be adapted to his or her level. For instance, a child could say, “God, please give me sleep and peace tonight. Amen.”
As simple as this prayer seems, it reflects the teaching of Scripture. David wrote in Psalm 4:8, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.”
God is the One who grants us sleep and protects us. We can go to sleep in peace, trusting that the Lord will sustain us (Psalm 3:5).
Teaching children to recognize God’s provision for peaceful rest is important in setting a biblical foundation in their lives.
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3. A Prayer for Safety
Parents instinctively think about the safety of their children. In Scripture, we read about how Job regularly thought about his children and offered sacrifices on their behalf (Job 1:5).
However, we can forget that children can worry about their parents, siblings, and friends. Teaching children to pray for their own safety and the safety of others can help them share their worries with God while also learning to pray for others.
Children’s circumstances can vary, so who they include in their prayers will be specific to them. In addition to parents or caretakers, they may include grandparents, siblings, friends, pets, neighbors, and teachers.
Parents can help model intercessory prayer by regularly praying for others with their kids. In this way, children can see examples of what it means to love and pray for others.
Although parents can help children craft a prayer that is easy for them to remember, while also customizable, the following prayer could be used as an example.
This prayer can be adapted for children based on their age and for the people they want to pray for: “Dear God, please keep me safe while I sleep. Protect Mommy and Daddy, Grandpa and Grandma, my brother and sister. Thank you, Lord. Amen.”
Intercessory prayer is an important part of the Christian life. Scripture encourages us to pray for one another (Ephesians 6:18; James 5:16) and to bear the burdens of others (Galatians 6:2).
Starting with bedtime prayers, children can begin to learn about intercession as they pray for safety, both for themselves and others.
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4. A Prayer for Fear of Tomorrow
In life, the future can seem uncertain. Children feel this way, too, fearing what the next day may bring. To help kids who fear tomorrow, parents could teach them a goodnight prayer that helps them see that God will be with them. He holds the future in His hands.
The Bible tells us of times when people felt afraid. Joshua felt this way when he was put in charge of leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.
Moses encouraged Joshua by saying, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:8). The truth that God would be with Joshua and go before him emboldened and comforted him.
King David found similar comfort in knowing that God went before him (Psalm 139:5). He wrote that it did not matter where he went, for the Lord would always be there (Psalm 139:7-12). Believers today have the same promise, that Jesus will be with us always (Matthew 28:20).
Like Moses did for Joshua, parents can encourage their children, reminding them that God goes before them. When little ones go to bed frightened of what tomorrow brings, parents can help them pray to acknowledge God’s emboldening and comforting presence.
Here is an example of a prayer, based on these verses and the well-known hymn “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.”
“God, I’m scared. Help me remember: You’ve got the whole world in your hands. You’ve got the future in your hands. You’ve got me in your hands. Give me peace, knowing you go before me.”
The prayer may seem simplistic to the ears of an adult, but praying for the comfort of God’s presence is powerful, as is the reminder that God is sovereign over all things.
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5. A Goodnight Prayer for Sweet Dreams
When I was a child, the darkness of nighttime terrified me, not only because of the fear of monsters under the bed but also because of nightmares. At those times, I needed light.
Above the foot of my bed, on a shelf, hung a pink, furry monkey plush that my grandmother had given me, which had a night light for a stomach.
Whenever the creeping darkness brought scary shadows or spooky sounds, or I awoke at night from a bad dream, I would press the round button and find comfort in the warm glow that illuminated the night.
Jesus is the Light of the world (John 8:12). In Him, we have nothing to fear because nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39).
Even greater is the truth that our Lord and Savior never sleeps (Psalm 121:4). God is always awake, always present, and always ready to listen when we feel scared.
Kids can learn to pray and ask God to give them sweet dreams. However, parents should also assure children that if they do have a bad dream, they can talk to God and ask Him to give them sleep.
Nothing is dark to Him, for even darkness is as light to Him (Psalm 139:12). Even if a nightmare causes little ones to wake up afraid, they can find comfort in the Light of the world, the One who never leaves or sleeps.
The children’s version of the prayer for sweet dreams is, “Lord, thank you for watching over me while I sleep. Help me have good dreams and restful sleep. If I have a bad dream, help me to remember you are with me. Amen.”
The parent’s version of the prayer for sweet dreams is, “Lord, thank you for watching over me and my family as we sleep. Help my child have sweet dreams and restful sleep. If (he or she) wakes in fear from a bad dream, please help (him or her) to remember that you are there, and you are the Light of the world. Amen.”
Teaching prayers to children can help them learn that God is present in their lives, loves them, and is Someone they can turn to at any time.
Recitation of prayers can be helpful, but as with any practice, parents should be discerning and make decisions about their child’s spiritual growth based on the Bible.
For further reading:
Does the Bible Say Anything about Sleep?
6 Prayers for Restorative Sleep
What Is the Significance of ‘A Little Sleep, a Little Slumber’?
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Originally published Thursday, 28 September 2023.