"Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep"

My entry today is a little different, and a short trip down memory lane. Please read. I will put my political hat back on at a later day.

When I was a kid my parents and grandparents taught us kids to say our prayers at night. The one I remember, and subsequently taught my kids went like this:

“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.” Then we would ask God to bless a number of people, our parents, grandparents, and others.

Some folk told me I shouldn't teach my kids that they might die in their sleep, that I should teach them a “more peaceful” bedtime prayer. I'm not sure where the original prayer came from. And I know as an adult that “rote prayer” isn't the best way to pray. We should pray from our hearts whatever is on our mind and in our needs at the time we pray. However, this bedtime ritual was an “introduction” to God, and to a prayer life.

I got saved at about age five, as a result of Sunday School classes and my grandmother's teaching. We prayed in Sunday School, and learned at an early age about Jesus, and His saving power. Today, as an adult, I try to ave daily Bible reading, sometimes morning and night. I use the faithful King James Version Bible, and have read it cover to cover. I will admit I don't get there every day, but most every day. In the last few years I have kept a reading journal to show where I read. What it shows is when I didn't read.

Some of my favorite parts of the Bible are the Psalms and Proverbs. I was reading there in Psalms today, and came across the following verses:

“I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.” Ps. 3:5; and “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” Ps. 4:8.

These verses are very close to my childhood prayer. When I am ready to go to bed, my childhood prayer can still be my night time adult prayer. As a Christian, I know that when I lay me down to sleep, God will protect my soul and spirit. Should I die before I wake, I know Jesus will be there to take me to Heaven. Should I make it through the night, I will awake refreshed, and in peace, for Jesus has kept me safe through the night.

Can you relate to this simple prayer? Do you feel the peace and safety when you lay your head on your pillow? You can if you have Jesus in your heart, and go to bed with a prayer on your lips.