This is a prayer for the night you are dreading before it starts, and for the one you are already in the middle of. It is short on purpose. Read it once, slowly, then leave it, and let the verses underneath do the rest.
Lord, it is night and I am tired in a way that sleep has not been fixing. I hand you the day. The parts I did well and the parts I did badly, the conversation I keep replaying, the thing tomorrow I cannot control from this bed. Take all of it. I am not solving anything tonight.
You said you give your beloved sleep. I am asking for that gift now, plainly, the way a child asks. Quiet my mind. Slow my breath. If I wake in the night, let me wake to your name and not to my fears, and let me go back down easily, the way David did when he lay down and slept and woke again because you held him up.
Keep the people I am carrying. You do not sleep, so I can. Keep watch over this house, over the ones I love, over the ones I am worried about, and let me leave the watching to you until morning.
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety. Amen.
The verses the prayer is made of
8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
The line the prayer ends on. Say it as the last thing before the light goes off.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Sleep as a gift, given, not earned by sitting up late.
5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.
Lay down, slept, awaked. David on the worst night of his life, and the reason he gives.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The reason you can stop keeping watch: someone else already is.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
The invitation the whole prayer answers.
24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
Sweet sleep, promised.
If you wake again, do not start over. Say the last line of the prayer and nothing else. Or put on the 24/7 livestream, screen down, volume low, and let the reading carry you back.
Questions
Is there a Bible verse to say before sleeping?
Psalm 4:8 is the classic: "I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety." Many people say it as the last thing before turning the light off.
What is a short prayer for a good night's sleep?
"Lord, I hand you the day. Give me your gift of sleep, keep the ones I love, and let me wake to your name." The full prayer on this page is a longer version of that.
Can I listen to this prayer?
The prayers in the Ambient Bible library are read over ambient music on Spotify and Apple Music, and the 24/7 livestream reads scripture all night. Both work with the screen off.