At the end of a long day everyone’s tired, and you’re probably nearly desperate to get your kids to bed. But as a Christian parent, you also want to thank God for your blessings and teach your kids to pray, hopefully instilling a life-long habit.
Here are 8 sweet and silly bedtime prayers for children of all ages. (They are good for adults, too!) These prayers will help your kids count their blessings, ask for forgiveness when they make mistakes and even ask for God’s help when they feel scared in the dark. Plus, the first prayer is an original adaptation of The Lord’s Prayer that will be easy for younger kids to understand.
These go-to prayers will give you an easy and fun way to pray before bedtime with your kids. (Likely the most popular bedtime prayer for children, “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep,” is a classic, but variety is a good thing.)
And after you lead your child’s bedtime prayer and give a kiss good night, you (and your kids) will soon be traveling to the Land of Nod. Sweet dreams and God bless!
The Lord’s Prayer
Dear Holy Father who lives in Heaven,
We pray your will be done.
Please give us food and water to drink,
And help us love everyone.
Forgive us when we make mistakes.
Thank you for not keeping score.
Help us forgive those who hurt us,
Let us love them even more.
Please keep us safe from evil and harm
And keep loving us without end.
You are our good, good Father,
and we love you, God. Amen!
All Creatures Great and Small
The tiny, yellow chick says, “tweet, tweet, tweet,”
And the black-spotted cow says, “moo.”
The fluffy, brown dog says “woof, woof, woof,”
And the wise, old owl says, “hoo!”
From the very, tall giraffe to the fishies in the sea,
All your creatures great and small,
Thank you, dear God, for each and every animal,
We know you made them all!
Thank You, God, for Loving Me!
The sun is setting, dear Father, and it’s time to go to bed.
Thank you, God, for loving me from my toesies to my head.
Tomorrow will be another fun and silly and busy day.
Please keep me safe as I run and jump and giggle and sing and play.
Counting My Blessings
I count my blessings, God, 1-2-3-4,
Mommy, Daddy, friends and even more!
With my warm, snuggly bed and my cuddly, brown bear,
I might be the luckiest kid anywhere!
Thank You, God!
Thank you, God, for the sun that helps to grow the big, tall trees.
Thank you, God, for the little, fuzzy, buzzy bumble bees.
Thank you, God, for the rain that grows a peach that’s oh so sweet,
And thank you, God, for all the yummy food we get to eat!
Thank You, God, for Your Forever Love
As the moon shines high above,
God, thank you for your forever love.
You’re always so near and dear to me,
And in my heart, you’ll always be.
Twinkling stars, too many to say
How you were able to make them that way.
But I know your love is like the sky.
It’s big and wide and low and high.
Whether I’m happy or angry or sad,
You’ll always love me, so that makes me glad.
No matter if I’m good or bad or okay,
You’ll love me as I am anyway!
Help Me Feel Safe in the Dark
Dear God,
When the lights go out and Mom and Dad say goodnight,
I sometimes feel worried; it gives me a lil’ fright!
I know I am safe, but the room feels scary,
As I toss and I turn, feeling a lil’ wary.
Help me feel safe, help me to see
That even in the dark you are here with me.
Help me fall asleep and sleep the whole night through
Knowing you’ll always love me, as I love you.
Amen.
I pray to you, Holy Spirit
I pray to you, Holy Spirit and Lord of my soul
And thank you for our rest, food and loving care
It’s because you are my dear best friend
That I know you’ll always be there.
Help me be kind and good and help me sleep I pray.
Then sweetly wake me with the morning light and stay with me all day.
Amen.
