A Bedtime Prayer for Kids — sacred illustration
✶ Our Bible Moments No. 242 / 253

Night & Bedtime

A Bedtime Prayer for Kids

Psalm 3:5

Psalm 3:5 is from a psalm of David, written when he fled from his son Absalom, in which David says that even with enemies all around him he could lie down, sleep and wake again, because the LORD sustained him.

Dear God, thank You for today. Thank You for my family and my friends, and for all the good things You gave me. I’m sorry for the times I wasn’t kind. Now I lie down and sleep. Please keep me safe all night. When I wake up, You will still be with me. You hold me up, Lord. I love You. Amen.

Psalm 3:5 is from a psalm of David, written when he fled from his son Absalom, in which David says that even with enemies all around him he could lie down, sleep and wake again, because the LORD sustained him.

The Scripture

“I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.”

— Psalm 3:5

Prayer points from Psalm 3:5

  1. Help your child thank God for one good thing from today.
  2. Let them name the people they love and ask God to bless them.
  3. Make room to say sorry for anything unkind, and to know God forgives.
  4. Pray together for a safe night and good sleep.
  5. Remind them that the LORD sustains them while they sleep.
  6. End by blessing your child in your own words.

About this verse

Psalm 3 has a heading: “A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom.” It was one of the hardest times of David’s life. His own son had risen against him, he had to run, and many were saying, “God will not deliver him.” Yet in the middle of the psalm he writes this simple line: “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.” David could sleep on a night like that because he trusted the One watching over him. That makes this a good first Bible verse for a child at bedtime. It is short enough to remember, and it answers the questions children often bring to bed: Who is watching over me? Will I be all right in the morning? This prayer is for a child to say with a parent at bedtime, in simple words, before lights out.

When to pray this prayer

More prayers for night & bedtime

Did this help you pray today?

Stay a little longer with Scripture

Watch the Bible word for word, or rest with a painting of Jesus, piece by piece.

Bible Movies app iconBible MoviesWhole Bible chapters as films, word for word→ Bible Jigsaw app iconBible JigsawPaintings of Jesus to piece together, each with a verse→

No app? Watch a chapter here · Play a jigsaw here

More prayers for Night & Bedtime → The whole prayer library

✶ · Our Bible Moments