It’s important that we pray at the end of the day with our children, thanking God for all that we’ve experienced, asking for peaceful rest and a fresh start for tomorrow.
“Some of the best prayers before sleep for children are simple prayers with rhyme and rhythm.”
If you’ve ever found yourself wanting to come up with a great prayer before sleep for your children, but are just too exhausted to find the words, you are not alone. If you are looking for original prayers, it’s not always easy coming up with the right words that are not only creative, but also are unique to your child’s personal experience. Some of the best prayers before sleep for children are simple prayers with rhyme and rhythm. Other times, coming up with our own words, even as you go, can be just as impactful. Here are a few great prayers before sleep for children.
A Child’s Bedtime Prayer
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. If I should live for other days, I pray the Lord to guide my ways. Father, unto thee I pray, thou has guarded me all day; safe I am while in thy sight. Safely let me sleep tonight. Bless my friends, the whole world bless; Help me to learn helpfulness. Keep me ever in thy sight, so to all I say good night. Amen.
If you’re looking for a simple prayer to recite with your younger child, you can turn to A Child’s Bedtime Prayer. It’s very easy to recite and can get your child into the rhythm of saying prayer. Some people may find this one a little too heavy for little children; however, it is probably one of the best-known prayers for children to say at night, particularly the first few sentences. If you are looking for an adaptation that’s a little more toned down, your child can simply say: Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; may God guard me through the night and wake me with the morning light. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer is the kind of prayer that kids can learn at a young age. It’s vital that your child doesn’t just learn to recite this prayer but that it’s taught to them in a meaningful way so that the act of prayer goes beyond simple recitation. You should consider the age of the child you’re teaching this prayer to. For younger children, you may encourage them to recite the Lord’s Prayer with you. With older ones, you may want to get them to think a little more about the meaning behind the words and see if they can write their own prayers to God based on one or more of the elements of the Lord’s Prayer.
Good Night, Jesus
Jesus, You are good and wise. I will praise You when I rise. Jesus, hear this prayer I send. Bless my family and my friends. Jesus, help my eyes to see all the good You send to me. Jesus, help my ears to hear calls for help from far and near. Jesus, help my feet to go in the way that You will show. Jesus, help my hands to do all things loving, kind and true. Jesus, guard me through tomorrow in all I do and all I say. Amen.
This is a great prayer for your child to start their day with. There is nothing better than getting your child in a mode where they are acknowledging Jesus first when they begin their day. The great thing about this prayer is it isn’t just focused on the self. It emphasizes love and concern for others. It’s important that we get our children in the routine of not only praying for themselves but also praying for others.
Thank You for the Night
Father, we thank thee for the night, And for the pleasant morning light; For rest and food and loving care, and all that makes the day so fair. Help us to do the things we should, to be to others kind and good; In all we do, in work or play, to grow more loving every day. Amen.
Giving thanks to God is important. Feeling and expressing appreciation is good for us. Like any wise father, God wants us to learn to be thankful for all the gifts He has given us. It is in our best interest that we remind our children that everything we have is a gift from Him and we should acknowledge Him every day for these gifts.
A Child’s Prayer for Protection
I won’t fret and I won’t worry. Instead I’ll hurry to pray. I’ll turn my problems into petitions and lift my hands in praise. I’ll say goodbye to all my fears. His presence sets me free although I may not understand I feel God’s peace in me. Amen.
Just like mealtime prayers, bedtime prayers can be short and sweet and you can say them right before you tuck your child in at night. You can use traditional blessings or make one up and cater it to your child’s life, requests and personal needs. You can also take turns saying one thing each of you is thankful for and one person or thing each of you wants to pray for. Getting your child in an active routine of prayer is crucial to building up their foundation in Christ.
www.beliefnet.com
How to Better Close Each Day In Peace
Carlos Cardoso Aveline
Prayers are never used in theosophy to ask for personal favours. Instead, they express active decisions and commitments which the individual makes with himself.
An effective prayer consists of clear and well-defined thoughts. It helps organize one’s own will and is based on the philosophical principles of self-knowledge, self-respect and self-responsibility. It is helpful when used to begin something, and also in closing and completing any period of activity.
The way things finish is as important as the manner they start. The end of a week, the close of a month and the last days of a year constitute occasions to evaluate what was done and how. Lessons must be extracted, and the decision renewed to do one’s best.
Everything is cyclic. Life evolves in spirals: the last step of each phase prepares the first step in the phase that follows. The final thoughts before sleeping influence more than just the quality of one’s sleep and dreams. They help determine the substance of the awakening in next morning. It is correct, therefore, to direct them in a conscious and creative way, with a sense of responsibility regarding the effects which they will provoke. A prayer is a way to set a direction for consciousness in the exact moment of transition into rest.
How to Improve the Quality of Sleep
The 24 hours cycle is an indivisible whole: the quality of sleep is determined by one’s consciousness in the waking state. The wider context of one’s daily life must therefore be examined and improved. It is a healthy habit to sleep early. In the hours previous to physical rest, one should avoid stressful activities or thoughts which involve emotional conflict. One must get up in the right time and proper way at the beginning of each journey.
Fulfilling one’s duty during the day makes it easier to sleep involved in a soul-level atmosphere of confidence and relaxation, and correct action naturally tends to occur if one combines noble intentions with personal detachment and a sharp discernment of right and wrong.
The Prayer Before Going to Sleep can be said with contemplative pauses which will have a varying duration. The moments of silence must be as long as they are useful for the practitioner. The right measure must be sensed. Their duration will be potentially different at each new practice: pauses can be made in different points according to the significance of one idea or other in the closing of each particular day.
It is correct to record ideas and commentaries in the margins of the paper where the prayer was printed.
The practice of saying the word AUM (pron. “OM”) is a way to evoke the law of universal harmony.
The “holy word” of the Eastern tradition must be pronounced in a selfless and altruistic state of mind; otherwise; it would harm the practitioner, and perhaps severely so.
The AUM can be pronounced for some four to five seconds. Surprisingly to some, the end of the sound must be quick, not prolonged. Among other effects, the sound of the AUM expands serenity. Those who love each other may want to practice the following prayer together.
A Prayer Before Going to Sleep
1) Om…
2) It’s the time to rest now, and I decide to conclude in peace the small incarnation that I had today. I say thanks to every part of my physical body, for the work faithfully done. I’m grateful to each cell of this body. Free from objective tasks, I accept the presence of happiness in my heart.
3) I now renounce to all desire. Tiredness is welcome. I experience serenity. I know I am a part of the universal law, and the law is my refuge.
4) Here and now, the point of balance in my being consists in the feeling of self-respect and respect for all beings. Love is like the light of the Sun and the stars. It guides each living being. Through universal love one finds the happiness of peace.
5) I call upon my higher self, my guardian angel, the inner master of each day. He made me be born. He guides me every time I can hear his voice. His voice flows above the plane of reality where words exist.
6) The voice of my Master, my soul’s voice, is the voice of the sacred Silence. I am a vehicle of the immortal aura which surrounds and inspires me. In this aura I live. I find peace in it. Its harmony is eternal and it is alive here and now. It protects me.
7) Om… Shanti. Peace.
NOTES:
See the text “How to Start the Day”, by Carlos Cardoso Aveline, which can be found at our associated websites.
After a few weeks (or months) of a daily practice in which one reads the text in paper, it is correct to evoke the inner and living spirit of this prayer, that is, the mental state it produces. Even so, it will be necessary to come back to reading the text from time to time.
On the role of the esoteric movement in the ethical awakening of mankind during the 21st century, see the book “The Fire and Light of Theosophical Literature”, by Carlos Cardoso Aveline.
Published in 2013 by The Aquarian Theosophist, the volume has 255 pages and can be obtained through Amazon Books.
www.carloscardosoaveline.com
Prayer Before Going to Sleep at night
God, grant us a good night
of good sleep and blessing,
thank you for being with us
as our Lord,
our peace, our light in the darkness.
We adore you.
God, your Word says
that if we are under your protective shade
we can say that you are our refuge
and castle. We trust in you.
We ask you to help us
to be safe tonight.
Lord, vanishes all fear of the night,
of terrors, of dangers or anxiety,
give us your blessed peace,
that this night may be quiet
and that we can enjoy
a deep sleeping time.
Thank you for the night of rest
and for all your love,
you shine in our hearts.
We love you, God. Amen.
Mery Bracho.
Good Night Short Prayer, christian quotes, prayer before going to sleep, Mery Bracho Prayers with image
www.shortprayersforyou.com
