Nighttime prayers for protection

Ending your day with prayer is a wonderful way to let go of stress and find peace before falling asleep. No matter what you faced today, talking to God through goodnight prayers will renew your faith. Evening prayer also helps you see all the good things that happened in your day that you have to be thankful for!

Share these nine bedtime and evening prayers with your children, spouse and friends so they too can fall asleep feeling blessed and thankful! 

Goodnight Prayer for Blessings

Bless us with rest tonight, Jesus, and a good night’s sleep. Forgive us for the things we did today that did not honor you. Thank you for loving us so much and that you know us through and through. We need your help every day, and we thank you for the strength you give and for helping us know that with you, even hard things are possible. Bless our family and our home, and keep us safe through the night. May your angels guard us and watch over us, just like you promised.

You’ve told us we are just like sheep. And that you lead us and guard us like a shepherd. You know our names, and you make us feel special and loved. When we hurt, you help us feel better. Thank you, Jesus, for your good care and for giving us to help. Thank you for the Bible, and for teaching us stuff in life that helps us grow. Bless the people in our world, and help them to know you love them, too. Thank you for all the people who help us so much: teachers, doctors, policeman, and fireman—and so many more.

Thank you for your good plan for our lives. Help us to obey you and love you more and more. When we awake in the morning, put a smile on our face and your purpose in our hearts, ready to start a new day. We love you, Jesus. Good night. In Jesus’s precious name, Amen. ~ ~ Rebecca Barlow Jordan

A Bedtime Prayer to Stop an Anxious Heart

Dear Lord, please help me trust You and empower me through Your Spirit to stop my emotions from bossing me around. I want to quit worrying about what might happen and focus on what has already happened by remembering and praising You for Your faithfulness in my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. ~ Renee Swoop

Giving Thanks Evening Prayer

Dear God, we thank you tonight for the good day and for the special way you take care of us all the time. Thank you for the fun times outside and the quiet times inside, and for helping us learn new things every day.

Thank you for creating us special, exactly the way you wanted. Thank you for protecting us throughout the day. Forgive us for the wrong things we do. Thank you for loving us even when we disobey or try to do things our way. Help us to always choose your way, God, because it’s always best. We pray for all the people who don’t know you, and that they will come to understand your love for them, too.

Bless our family and thank you for good times together and apart. Bless our friends and those we love, including our grandparents, our aunts and uncles and cousins. Thank you for our home and a place to sleep and good food to eat. Help us rest well, give us peaceful dreams, and send your angels around our home to protect us throughout the night. Teach us to trust you and to love you more and more. You are good; you are great; and you are faithful, God. And we love you. Good night. In Jesus’s precious name, Amen. ~ Rebecca Barlow Jordan

A Short Night-time Prayer (2 Timothy 1:7)

For God’s not given me a spirit of fear, 
But a spirit of love, 
and of power, and a sound mind,
To live each day and glorify his name. 

Popular Child’s Bedtime Prayer, 18th Century

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.

Alternative Version for Children:
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
Watch and guard me through the night,
and wake me with the morning light.
Amen.

A Beautiful Prayer to End the Day

Heavenly Father, my day is drawing to an end, and I’m ready to turn in. But before I do, I have to thank you for your faithfulness today. It’s always a good day, even when things may not go the way I plan, or when the world seems in chaos, because you are in control.

For all the times when I was aware of your help today, all the times when your unseen presence seemed so near, thank you, God. But for all the ways you worked behind the scenes, unknown to me, moments when heaven-sent angels moved on my behalf in ways I’ll never know, thank you for those also, Lord.

Forgive me for any foolish actions on my part today or things I did without first asking your blessing or wisdom. Those are moments I’d rather forget, but I’m so grateful for your forgiveness when I ask. I never want to go to bed without clearing the air between us, Lord. Our friendship means too much, and your holiness deserves that. Thank you for loving me just as I am. Your love compels me to give you my all and fills my heart with praise for the relationship we share because of Jesus.

As I close my eyes tonight, I’m praying for loved ones around me, for friends and those who need to know you, Lord. I’m praying that your love, like the billions of stars in the night sky outside, will touch them and help them see who you really are. I pray for our world and those in it. I pray for their needs as well as my own.

Grant me a good night’s sleep tonight, God, so that I can awake refreshed and ready to begin another day loving you. Thank you again for blessings so undeserved and too numerous to count. I love being your child, and I long for the word “faithful” to describe my service to you, each day of every year. When I awake in the morning, may it be with a joyful smile, not a grumpy spirit. May your protection and your presence bathe this place with peace and safety against the enemy. Good night, Lord. In Jesus’s name, Amen. ~ Rebecca Barlow Jordan

Father, We Thank Thee

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.
— Rebecca Weston – 1890

Bedtime Prayer (song by Twila Paris)

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray dear Lord that you will keep
Your eyes upon this sleeping world
Every little boy and girl

Bless the children far away
The ones who don’t know how to pray
Those who are not feeling well
The little one the slipped and fell

Bless the puppy down the street
The neighbors I have yet to meet
Bless my mom and dad especially

Just one more thing I’d like to say
Before I close another day
I’d like to thank you Lord for all the ways
That You bless me

Bless the child whose home is torn
The babies who are not yet born
Bless the ones who take your word
To all the hearts that have not heard

Bless all your children everywhere
I hope they know how much you care
Maybe someday I can go
And tell them that You love them so

Bless Grandma and my Grandpa too
And all my friend and all they do
Bless every twig upon my family tree

Just one more thing I’ll say to you
I’m so amazed by all you do
I’ll thank you once again because it’s true
That you bless me

The Examen (Evening Reflection)

Written by St. Ignatius Loyola, the Examen is a daily process for prayerfully reflecting on your day. 

1. Remember God’s presence.
Even after a trying day, God will quiet your soul as you remember His presence and intentionally seek to enter into it. Remember He’s with you. Invite Him to make Himself present to you. 

2. Respond to Him with thanks.
Giving thanks gives God glory and helps us look on the bright side of a bad day. What small blessings can you thank God for?

3. Reflect on how God showed Himself to you.
God reveals himself through scripture, but we also see glimpses of him in nature, events, and people. Sometimes He shows up loudly through miraculous, divine intervention. Other times He shows Himself quietly through the beauty of a flower or an earnest conversation. As you look back over your day, can you identify moments where you sensed God’s revelation or intervention? 

4. Repent of your failings.
I don’t like recognizing my own sin, but repentance is key to continual renewal in our relationship with God.As you reflect on your day, remember specific points where you failed. Bring your shortcomings before God and ask Him to forgive you.  

5. Resolve to grow. 
God is in the business of changing us, so don’t let your failings discourage or define you. His mercies are always new. Accept His forgiveness. Ask Him for grace to change. Is there anything you need to make right or anyone you need to apologize to? What can you do differently tomorrow?

Do you have a favorite goodnight prayer you use at bedtime? One that your parents taught you or that you are teaching your children? Share it with our community in the comments below!

This article is part of our larger Prayers resource meant to inspire and encourage your prayer life when you face uncertain times. Visit our most popular prayers if you are wondering how to pray or what to pray. Remember, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and God knows your heart even if you can’t find the words to pray.

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Reciting a daily prayer before bedtime is just one way you can seek refuge and achieve spiritual peace. Here is a look at some great nighttime prayers for adults that will aid in protecting your spirit and sending you the blessing of a peaceful sleep.

Prayer #1

Dear Lord,
The evening comes, the day is done. Let peace wash over my household throughout the dark of night and in the few still hours of the next morning. Wipe away our troubles. Cleanse us of worry and doubt. Through You, may Your magnificent good be our protection forever more.
Amen

Prayer #2

Dear God,
The day was long and trying. I am grateful for its end. As I lay here waiting for sleep to overtake me, I count the blessings in the day that has passed. Work was hard, I’m blessed to have a job. My kids were frustrating, I’m blessed to have them. My body aches, I’m blessed to have medication. The list goes on, but #1 is, even when I struggle, I am blessed to have faith. Thank You Lord for giving me a daily opportunity to rest and refresh.
Amen

Prayer #3

Dear God,
My head is heavy, the body weary. It’s time for sleep and I succumb. I am thankful O God for rest and renewal. A time to re-charge. A time to dream. A time of quiet. I am thankful for all I have.
Amen

Prayer #4

As I lay myself to rest,
I pray my loved ones will be blessed.
God, watch over me tonight,
Bless me with Your love so bright.
The angels they will dance and sing,
And to me, sweet dreams they bring.
When I wake to greet the day,
God I know you’ll light the way.
Amen

Prayer #5

Dear God,
Dispel my fear. End my anxiety, wipe worry from my mind. May I know the power of Your love and the wisdom of Your word. Grant me a peaceful sleep tonight and bring me back tomorrow to a place of safety, security, and right-minded thinking.
Amen

Prayer #6

Dear God,
Work Your wonders. May the sun bring me new energy by day, and the moon softly restore my soul by night. Let rain wash away worry and the breeze blow new strength into my being. I will walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of my life.
Amen

Prayer #7

Dear God,
You are my reason for being. You are why I wake up each day, and sleep peacefully each night. Every single second is a sacred moment as I live utterly devoted to You.
Amen

Prayer #8

Dear Lord,
When others tear me down, You lift my spirits. When all hope is lost, You are the one who gives me reason to dream again. I feel Your universal beauty and my heart opens to Your radiance. Thank You for the blessings You bestow upon me.
Amen

Prayer #9

Dear God,
In the darkness of this hour I praise You. For You make evening flow. As I slip into a state of rest and renewal, bless me with sweet dreams. Wake me in the morning to see your splendor another day.
Amen

Prayer #10

Dear God,
Night falls. It’s time for me to count my blessings. As I name them one by one, I feel my problems disappear. I’m amazed by how easy it is to make my bitter heart happy again. Thank You for making me keenly aware of the good that surrounds me. I am blessed with appreciation for all I have.
Amen

Prayer #11

Dear God,
I stop and listen to You softly speak. No words are heard – instead I feel the love you are sharing with me in silent communication tonight. Thank You for hearing the pleas of my heart and answering my prayers.
Amen

Prayer #12

Thank You Lord for my bed and pillow and the benefits that You provide for us day by day.. You truly are a God who provides for all Your children and a God Who is faithful to all His promises…

Give us all a peaceful night sleep we pray – and Lord, we love You and praise You and thank You for all that You have done for us – and most of all for sending the Lord Jesus Christ to die for us on the cross.. so that we might be forgiven of our sins and receive Your free gift of eternal life.. for which we are eternally grateful.

Into Your hands O Lord we commit our souls and bodies to be a living sacrifice of praise to You.. and pray that in Your grace You would wake us up in the morning, ready to praise You for all Your goodness and grace to us and to all men – this we pray in Jesus precious name,

Amen

Prayer #13

Father,

Thank you for today, for all the ways in which I have known you…

For the sunrise and the birdsong
For the music I’ve heard, and the things I’ve enjoyed
For the meals, and for the cosy home I live in
For my close family and for my special friends
Most of all, thank you for being beside me through each moment.

May I dream good dreams and arise again tomorrow to thank you once more.
Amen.

Prayer #14

Dear Father in Heaven,
Here, safe in my home, 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 sleep. Help me to surrender all I am to you, my fatigue, my concerns, my hopes and fears.
As I drift into sleeping 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.

Prayer #15

O Lord our God, King of the Universe.
Let the wings of sleep fall upon my eyes,
and upon my eyelids.
O Blessed One,
Let me lie down in peace,
and rise in peace.
Into Your hand I entrust my spirit.

Prayer #16

Eternal Father, I desire to rest in Your Heart this night. I make the intention of offering to You every beat of my heart, joining to them as many acts of love and desire. I pray that even while I am asleep I will bring back to You souls that offend You. I ask forgiveness for the whole world, especially for those who know You and yet sin. I offer to You my every breath and heartbeat as an act of reparation.
Amen.

A great way to end an exhausting day is a nighttime prayer before going to bed. Here is a look at one prayer that will help you achieve a quality rest.

connectusfund.org

God is the great Protector. His name in Hebrew to describe this is Jehovah-Nissi. He is the One who defends, delivers, covers, preserves, shelters and watches over us. Sometimes we need to call upon Him in our prayers for protection. Here are ten short prayers for protection that you might want to consider.

Jacob’s Prayer for Protection from Esau (Genesis 32:9-12)

“… Please deliver me from the hand of my brother”

And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”

Jehoshaphat Fasted and Prayed for Protection from the Moabites and Ammonites and the Meunites (2 Chronicles 20:6-12)

“O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you— for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

Ezra Fasted and Prayed for Protection from the Enemy (Ezra 8:21-23)

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

David’s Prayer for Protection from his son Absalom (Psalms 3)

O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
many are saying of my soul,
there is no salvation for him in God. Selah

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.

Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.

Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! Selah

Stephen’s Prayer for the Protection (mercy) of His Murderers (Acts 7:60)

And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Paul’s Prayer Thanking God for Deliverance from Evil at Colossae (Colossians 1:9-14)

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

“The Lorica”

I bind to myself today – God’s Power to guide me, God’s Might to uphold me, God’s Wisdom to teach me, God’s Eye to watch over me God’s Ear to hear me,

God’s Word to give me speech, God’s Hand to guide me, God’s Way to lie before me, God’s Shield to shelter me, God’s Host to secure me,

Against the snares of demons, against the seductions of vices, against the lusts of nature,

Against everyone who meditates injury to me, whether far or near, whether few or with many.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ at my right, Christ at my left, Christ in the fort, Christ in the chariot seat, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.

Personalized Well-known Passages As Prayers for Protection

Based upon Psalms 91:9-16

Holy God, I have made You my dwelling place, the Most High, who is my refuge and I trust that because of this no evil shall be allowed to befall me, no plague come near my home. For he will command his angels concerning me to guard me in all my ways. On their hands they will bear me up lest I strike my foot against a stone. I will tread on the lion and the adder;  the young lion and the serpent I will trample underfoot. I rest upon your promise: “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Amen

Based upon Psalms 140:1-5

Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men, who plan evil things in their heart and stir up wars continually. They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s, and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah

Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have planned to trip up my feet. The arrogant have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net; beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

Based upon Ephesians 6:13-17

Dear Lord, as I put on the full armour of God, I know that when the day of evil comes, I will be able to stand my ground, and after I have done everything, I will stand. I will stand firm, with the belt of truth buckled around my waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with my feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, I will take up the shield of faith, with which I can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. I take on the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Sources:

An excerpt from 1889, C. F. (“Fanny”) Alexander (1818-1895), version at the request of H. H. Dickinson, Dean of the Chapel Royal at Dublin Castle.

Image: Bernie Condon / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Tagged as: Prayers, Prayers for Protection, Praying

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