Your Child’s Bedtime Prayer

Teaching a prayer at bedtime is a great way to encourage your child to develop a prayer habit. When you pray together, explain what the prayer means and how he can use it to talk to God in his everyday life. These prayers from Catholic schools in Kissimmee, FL include rhyme to help your child learn and remember the prayers easily, plus start building a relationship with God.

Traditional Bedtime Prayer

Your child may already know this well-known prayer, which comes in many variations. 

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

May the angels watch me through the night,

And keep me in their blessed sight. Amen.

Child’s Evening Prayer

Author unknown

I hear no voice, I feel no touch,

I see no glory bright;

But yet I know that God is near,

In darkness as in light.

He watches ever by my side,

And hears my whispered prayer:

The Father for His little child

Both night and day doth care.

Father, We Thank Thee

By Rebecca Weston (1890) 

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.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, And John
This prayer is also called “Black Paternoster,” which is a nursery rhyme from medieval times. Published by an Anglican priest, Sabine Baring-Gould, in 1891, the piece is part of a collection of folk songs titled “Songs of the West.”

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,

Bless the bed that I lie on.

Four corners to my bed,

Four angels round my head;

One to watch and one to pray,

And two to bear my soul away.

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train the young in the way they should go; even when old, they will not swerve from it.” At the Catholic schools in Kissimmee, FL, we foster an atmosphere of care and an environment of high expectations and effective discipline. To learn more about what makes us different, contact the Office of Catholic Schools at the Diocese of Orlando by dialing 407-246-4800.