BEDTIME PRAYERS

4/18/12 Remember those first prayers you uttered? Mine were:

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.

God bless Mother, Daddy, Bobby, Buddy, myself and everyone in the whole-wide world. A-men!

(I probably added Buster our dog, when he became a family member.)

 Scripted? Yes. Ineffectual? Not necessarily. Scripted prayers can be an effective beginning point--- giving us words when we have no words. Whether it’s age or inability to form deep cries of our heart, “script” can help. Scripture being just that---a great guide for praying. All ready written out in God’s word for our use---to encourage us in developing a deep prayer life.

For me, praying scripture is different from a prayer “model” as scripture is often used to incorporate verses or an entire psalm within my own prayers.

The Lord’s Prayer is a model. We’re even instructed to “model” that in Matthew 6:9. “This, then, is how you should pray:”

Pray over one’s infant who’s lying in a crib or “sitting” on a grandparent’s bed, before he/she can even talk is important---soothing for both baby and adult. 

Whereas “Now I lay me down to sleep” gets a toddler started, the Lord’s Prayer becomes an outline for “prayer” for the older set, though possibly used more often in group settings, than at bedtime.

As a youngster, my “scripted” prayers were at mealtimes (“saying grace”) and my bedtime prayers were at night. Nowadays, though, as I pray before falling asleep, it’s more of a thankful reflection of my day. My “biggie” more consistent bedtime prayers occur in the morning before my feet even hit the floor.

Bedtime prayers have no prescribed words, as they vary with each pray-er. Nor is there a prescribed time. The important factor is having bedtime prayers. How will our children and grandchildren ever learn if we don’t join them bedside and show the way!