“Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray thee Lord my soul to keep
If I should die before I wake…..”
What??? If I should die??? Am I going to die???
Now that’s a scary prayer for a child, and unfortunately it’s children that were taught to pray it.
I remember one night when I was five years old that I was lying in my bed crying and crying. My mother came into my room to see what was the matter. So through my sobs I wailed “I’m going to get old… sob… sob… and I’m going to die…” I don’t remember what comforting words my mother told me, I’m sure she did give me some because I don’t remember ever crying over getting old again (until recently that is… sorry, just kidding).
As a young child I prayed this scary “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer. I didn’t really know much about God, but I’d heard that He was in heaven somewhere and I hoped that I would get to go there someday, if I was good enough. I remember thinking that God, whoever and wherever he was, had the whole world to worry about so I was quite sure he was much too busy to care about me.
What an absolute joy it is for me to hear my grandchildren’s bedtime prayers when they sleep over at our house on occasion. They are not praying the “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer. They amaze me that at the tender ages of 6 and 8, they talk to God like they really know Him, like He’s right there listening to their every word (which He is) and like He is going to answer their prayers (which He will). They speak to the Lord about many different things, for example they ask God to keep their daddy safe at work, pray to have pleasant dreams, for a friend’s mother to believe in Jesus, healing for another one in need and even for world events that they hear about – all spoken with absolute confidence and with thankfulness mixed in.
Yes, call on the Lord today, He’s not too busy for you. He will answer you. Talk to Him like He’s your best friend, because He is!!!
Good post! I was curious about the origins of that prayer, so I did a little googling and couldn't find much other than it was developed in the 18th century. I did find a variation, which was much nicer:
ReplyDeleteNow I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
Guard me Jesus through the night,
And wake me with the morning light.
great post Mum! Thanks for your encouraging words about the kids. There were a couple of really funny prayer requests and praise reports when they were younger, but still, God hears them all and I'm sure He was smiling too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for researching that Wendy. Yes the other version is much nicer :)
ReplyDeletemy best prayers are conversations with God ...I talk and talk and talk...finally I just sit quietly in his presence...and I am at peace...
ReplyDelete