Saying goodnight blessings and prayers is a wonderful way to end the day. Spending time reflecting on the good times of the day, thanking the Lord, and connecting with God through prayer is so calming at night. It’s something we model for our children, and we pray with them during their bedtime routine at the end of each day also.
But have you ever come to your daily prayer time and just drawn a blank? Perhaps the day was jam packed full and your head is just spinning with thoughts. You might find yourself searching for the words to pray at the end of the day.
Goodnight Blessings and Prayers
The good news is that God simply loves to hear from you, regardless of the specific words you pray. You don’t have to have just the right words or pray in a special way. No matter what you faced today, saying a good night prayer will help you refocus on your faith and also help you sleep peacefully.
In case you find yourself in need of a bit of direction in your nighttime prayers, here are 25 good night blessings and prayers to consider.
Goodnight Blessings and prayers for Sleep
If you ask me, sleep is underrated. I talk about that a bit in my “The Importance of Rest” post because I fully believe it. I find that good sleep helps me in basically every area of my life. As a wife, mom, business owner, blogger, and type 1 diabetes manager, I can certainly run myself ragged. But I have learned (the hard way with skinned knees) to prioritize rest and sleep.
So here are a few goodnight blessings and prayers for a good night sleep. May God grand you a good night’s sleep tonight.
1. Prayers for Peaceful Rest
Heavenly Father, I know that You are the Prince of Peace. You are the provider of the peace that passes all understanding, and You are the giver of rest. You tell me in Your Word not to worry, but to lay everything at Your feet. So I come to You with my concerns, my fears, and my cares. I give them over to You now. Instead of worrying, help me to reflect on Your goodness and Your love for me as I fall asleep tonight. Refresh my mind. I also pray, God, as I close my eyes that You would provide me with a peaceful night of sleep and sweet dreams. Wake me rested in the morning light for a good day tomorrow.
2. Prayers for Uninterrupted, Restful Sleep
Thank you, God, for day and night. Thank You for the opportunity to rest also. As I prepare for a restful night, I pray for Your help today to sleep well. Dear Lord, I lay all my burdens down, knowing You fight my battles for me. I also consider Your desires for me, and I look forward to what You have for me tomorrow. Please help me to rest in uninterrupted sleep tonight. Help me to get restful sleep, and wake me again in the morning with a joyful heart for a new day.
BONUS: 25 POWERFUL MORNING PRAYERS
Goodnight Blessings and Prayers for Forgiveness
The Lord Jesus teaches us in what has been named The Lord’s Prayer (found in Matthew 6:9-13). He also models asking for forgiveness in that prayer example. So we know asking God for forgiveness for our sins is important. So here is a simple nightly prayer for forgiveness.
3. A Prayer for Forgiveness
Lord God, as this day draws to an end, I confess my sins from today. I also ask for Your forgiveness, Your mercy, and Your grace. As David prayed in the Psalms, search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)
Calming Prayers for Anxiety at Night
Feelings of anxiety can certainly keep you up at night. But that’s not what God wants for us. He wants us to lay all our cares at His feet and sleep soundly in the perfect peace of God, knowing He is ultimately in control. Prayer is such a powerful tool to help us in this, as it also causes us to stop and take a deep breath as we focus on God’s presence. So here are a few simple night prayers for such an occasion.
4. Prayer to Calm Anxiety
Lord, When I feel despair and anxiety and worry, I need Your good word more than I know. During moments of anxiety, I feel as though I have such little faith. But God, I pray You would uphold me in those tough times. Provide Your perfect peace. Lord, be my very present help every single moment. You are my God of hope, and I pray You would remind me of that when I need it most.
5. Breath Prayer
Have you heard of a breath prayer? It’s absolutely perfect for anxiety at night. It’s super simple and relaxing to do. Just choose a short phrase or sentence or verse from scripture. Then say the first part of it as you breathe in deeply. And then say the second half of it as you exhale slowly. Here are a few examples:
- (inhale) “my soul finds rest” + (exhale) “in God alone” (from Psalm 62:1)
- (inhale) “The Lord is my Shepherd” + (exhale) “I shall not want” (from Psalm 23 ESV)
- (inhale) “Peace of Christ” + (exhale) “guard my heart and mind” (from Philippians 4:7)
The beauty of a breath prayer is its simplicity and repetitive nature. You can choose any phrase in scripture you want, and meditate on it while breathing deeply.
If you are struggling with anxiety, please know you are not alone. One in five or six (depending on the diabetes type) of people living with diabetes are dealing with anxiety.
That’s why I wrote “Bible Verses on Anxiety to help you feel Peace” and also a free coordinating Bible reading plan download. Here it is again in case it’s helpful!
Goodnight Blessings and Prayers for Protection
Good night prayers give us an opportunity to thank God for His blessings and His protection, and a chance to request His protection overnight and for another day tomorrow. So here is an example of this type of prayer.
6. A Prayer for Protection
O Lord God, You are my Creator, my Sustainer, and my Protector. You are strong and mighty. I thank You for Your protection over me today. And God, as the day ends tonight, I pray You would continue to watch over me. Send Your Holy Spirit to be with me. Send Your angels also to protect me. Lord, help keep me safe through the night, but wake me in the morning feeling ready to take on what You have for me.
Prayers to Pray over your children
As a mother myself, this is a topic I feel like I could certainly pray about more often — prayers for my children. (These would also work for grandchildren or other young family members and friends, so adapt them as needed.)
We undoubtedly want the best for our children, and that means wanting guidance, protection, encouragement, comfort, and God’s perfect love for them. So here are a few sample goodnight prayers for children.
7. A Prayer for Strength for your Kids
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for my children. I am blessed to be trusted with them, to steward them well for You. My children face so much today. There is seemingly constant peer pressure, opposition, and other hardships. Lord, I pray for their protection while they sleep and while they are awake tomorrow. Surround them with Your angels. I pray You would also guide and direct them away from the pressures of this world and bring them to You. Help them in school to do their best and be a good friend to others. Help them to have a generous and humble heart. Father, give them strength when they are weighed down by the things of this world. Teach them to give their cares to You and trust You in all things.
8. Goodnight Blessings and Prayers for Friendships
Jesus, I thank You for blessing me with my children. You have created them on purpose and for a purpose, and I simply and humbly thank You. Lord, I pray tonight for their friendships. I pray You would guide and direct the people they choose to spent time with. I pray You would help my children to find friends who also love You. And I pray they would also be friendly to others who don’t know You, that they might introduce them to You. Help them to be strong in You when relationships hit rough spots. Help my children to also have compassion for others, and a generous heart toward others as well. In Jesus’ name.
9. A Prayer for Their Salvation
Lord, thank You for my children, for the blessing they are to me and to our family also. I want to pray about their relationship with You today. Jesus Christ, I pray they would have an open heart and open mind to Your leading. I pray You would be very real to them and show them You are real. I also ask that you guide and direct their steps in school, in friendships, at home, and anywhere they go. May they be a true reflection of You. Help me to engage in conversations with them about faith and who You are and how much You love them. I pray, Christ Jesus, they would choose to come to You over anything else.
Goodnight Blessings and Prayers for Your Husband
Not only is it important to pray for our children, but our husbands as well. We are called to be praying wives, to lift our husbands to the Lord regularly as a part of being his supporter and helpmate in life. And that is a privilege in our position as wives. So here are a few sample goodnight blessings and prayers as we pray for our husbands.
10. Prayers for His Relationship with God
Dear Father, thank You for my husband and the blessing he is to my life. I pray for his walk with You today, God. Help him to lean into You more and more. I pray he would be in Your Word consistently, and also in prayer regularly as well. I pray he would feel your encouragement, and that he would be motivated to know You at a deeper level each and every day. God, please help and guide him in his walk with You.
11. Prayers for Him as a Father
Lord, I thank You for my husband and father to my children. He is certainly a blessing to us all. This evening, I lift him to You as I pray for him in his role as a father. Thank you for being such a good, good Father for us, and an example for us also. May he always look to Your example of being a gracious and loving Heavenly Father. I pray You would equip him with all he needs to help educate, support, discipline, encourage, and just have fun with our children. May he enjoy the role of being a father, but may he also see You at work in him through it.
12. Prayers for Your Marriage
God, thank You for the gift of marriage, and thank You for my husband. I pray tonight that You would continue to work in his life. Guide and direct him. Help him to be the leader of our household, and also help me to be his teammate and encourager. I pray You would also help me as his wife to be a listening ear, a loving companion, and a wife that shows Your mercy and grace. Help us to be unified, Lord. Help us to be focused on You first in our marriage and to spur each other on in our walks with You.
13. Prayers for His Work
Father God, thank You for my husband’s work. Thank You for the way it provides us. Thank You for the opportunities he has in his job. God, I pray today that You would help him to maintain the perspective of working as though he is working for the Lord. Remind him that his work is for You and not for earthly masters. Give him a big picture perspective to see the good he is doing in his job and how it relates to helping others. But help him to work humbly and gratefully for You.
Scripture-Based goodnight blessings and Prayers
Often times, when I don’t quite know what to pray, I will turn to scripture. There are absolutely beautiful prayers throughout the Psalms in particular. You can read those at any time, but you can pray them as well. So here are a few examples.
14. Prayers from Psalm 86
You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. Hear my prayer, Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me. Among the gods there is none like you, Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name. For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.
Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead. – Psalm 86:5-13
15. Goodnight Blessings and Prayers from Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. – Psalm 121
16. Prayers from Psalm 139
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you. – Psalm 139:7-18
Prayers for the End of a Hard Day
Have you ever had a day that just seemed to get worse as it went on? It happens to the best of us. Hard days are inevitable, and some are harder than others. It’s unfortunately the nature of living in a fallen and broken world. But here are a few helpful goodnight blessings and prayers you can say before bed after a day filled with difficult times.
17. Goodnight Blessings and Prayers for Comfort
Dear God, I come to you tonight feeling weary. Today was so hard, and it just kept piling on. I didn’t want to face everything I had to deal with. Problems kept coming up, one after another, and I feel beaten up by it all. But I come to you with arms open, praying for Your grace and mercy and comfort tonight. Father, forgive me for the times I had a negative attitude. I know You are aware of it all, and that You are always with me. Please comfort and reassure me in that as I go to sleep tonight. Help me to lay my frustrations at your feet. Give me Your wisdom for tomorrow, and also help me focus on Your presence throughout the day.
18. A Prayer for Perspective
Father, I know You know this, but today was so hard. And I’m feeling exhausted by it all tonight. My mind is racing with thoughts about it all, and many of those thoughts are negative. Lord, forgive me for my attitude. I pray tonight You would help me to have the proper perspective. I pray that I would see the bigger picture and how You are potentially using the events of today for good. Help me to lay my burdens down tonight, God. Help me to clear my mind and focus on You as I lay down to rest. I pray for peaceful sleep and energy to face tomorrow. Thank You, God.
Thankful Bedtime Prayers of Praise
Regardless of how your day has gone, one of the best prayers at night is simply a prayer of thanks. Because God’s goodness doesn’t change based on our day. He is still worthy of all our praise, and His great love never fails. So here are a few examples we can find in scripture that will help us pray prayers of praise.
19. Prayer of Praise from Nehemiah
Blessed be Your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship You. – Nehemian 9:5-6
20. Praise from Psalm 8
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? ou have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! – Psalm 8:3-9
21. Goodnight Blessings and Prayers from Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. – Psalm 23
We can struggle to have a thankful heart in this world, can’t we? Some days are just hard and we allow it to harden us and focus only on what is difficult. But we can still be thankful for all the good things. May God show you today that He is worthy through it all.
That’s why I wrote “How to have a Thankful Heart Through a Chronic Illness” and a free coordinating Bible reading plan around cultivating a heart of thanks. Here it is for you!
Bedtime Blessings and Prayers for a Chronic Illness
Because this is primarily a blog centered around diabetes, it’s only fitting that we wrap up this prayer post with prayers about diabetes and chronic illness in general. Here are a few examples to consider.
22. Remember God is Near
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Spirit. Thank You for Your closeness. When I am afraid, please remind me You are always with me. Teach me to lean into You each and every day as I navigate this illness. Thank You for being a God who will never leave me alone or abandoned. I choose tonight to trust that You are close by.
23. Purpose in the Pain
Lord, You have created me on purpose and with a purpose. But I pray specifically that this illness would have a purpose in my life as well. God, You can create beauty from ashes and bring good from evil. I pray You would do that in my situation also. May I never forget Your goodness and Your plan and Your ability to work through all things. What love You have lavished on us in this!
24. We are not Alone
God, thank You for creating us for community. Thank You for the people You have surrounded me with. Thank You for the love and support I am shown from them also. God, for those days that I just need to connect with someone else who is walking the same road, please give me the courage and bravery to reach out then. Remind me that asking for help is not a weakness but a strength. It’s simply asking for community — the community You created us for. Remind me, Lord, that I don’t have to face this alone.
25. God Understands
Lord God, thank You for Your gracious understanding. I know that You are a good Father, and You want me to come to You. Please nudge me to come to You with everything, including my fears and worries and anxieties about my chronic illness also. Help me come to You first. Remind me that I will find comfort and encouragement and peace in You. Thank You for Your love.
A GUIDE For PRAYER
Are you looking for a way to write your prayers? My free 10 prayer templates are here for you!
And if you’d rather just journal your prayers, you can do that too! I most often use a journal like this one. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. God just wants to hear from our hearts.
Do You Say Bedtime Prayers?
If you liked reading these prayers? Do you say bedtime prayers? If so, would you please let me know? I would love to hear from you!
If you want more Bible reading plans, devotions, and more, please join my VIP list and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for the latest updates.
PIN FOR LATER
Related Posts
Bible Reading Plans
