Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

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“Faith and prayer both are invisible but they make impossible things possible.” – unknown

About a dozen years ago, a good friend told me a story about her son who was about seven or eight-years-old at the time. Their neighbor’s dog had gone missing and her son was worried. So they looked everywhere they could think of. When they didn’t find the dog, they went home and said a prayer for its safe return. By the next morning, the dog had returned home.

Shortly after, her son was worried about getting a new class seating assignment. He didn’t want to have to sit next to a particular kid. So he prayed about it before he went to bed.

When he came home from school the next day, his mom asked him about the seating arrangement. Did he have to sit next to the kid he didn’t want?

Her son answered, “Of course not. I prayed about it.”

Ah, the wisdom of kids.

I love the time talking with my kids right before bedtime. They snuggle in to bed, we talk about the highs and lows of the day, and if there is a nagging worry or hurt, it usually comes tumbling out.

Then we pray, I kiss them goodnight and turn off the light. Rarely does a worry persist to the morning. They turn it over to a Higher Power and then let it go.

Of course they have smaller worries – but they also have a good practice. One that I need to remember for myself.

We need to empty our cups before we fill them.

(featured photo from Pexels)

55 thoughts on “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep”

  1. I wish it were true that good people, such as you and your children, could pray for the solution of problems or the safety and health of those they love, with certainty that their problems would then be solved.

    I am fairly certain that you don’t believe we have the power to do that, Wynne, but the value of prayer and belief in a loving God I came to understand from some of my patients was a different thing, and clearly provided them with something otherwise absent in their lives. It also made them into better people.

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    1. What an interesting observation about the practice of prayer from your clients. No, I don’t believe that the answer to prayers is certain but I do believe in the power of letting go what we can’t control. I bet that you helped your patients a great deal!

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  2. I find it interesting that Quantum Science is proving that our thoughts (prayers are thoughts too) have an effect on our environment. So, it stands to reason that deep faith will have a powerful effect.

    No matter our belief system, it’s comforting to know that our thoughts and prayers do matter. Feeling confident of a good outcome is far better that living in fear and projecting that into our lives!

    For the non-religious people: even saying “Good things are being worked out” can have a very positive effect on the mind, body and our lives.

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  3. Some of the most astounding answers to prayer I’ve been blessed to witness in life Wynne have been those God granted to my children’s unencumbered belief and trust He would answer.

    We’re that all my prayers were always offered up with the ‘unfiltered’ belief and trust of a child.

    The desperate prayer of the father for his mute, possessed son in Mark 9:24 remains ever mine …

    “Lord I believe; help my unbelief”

    Keep Looking Up ^ … His Best is Yet to Come ‘

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  9. a great practice. learning to let things go that we don’t have control over. hard to do at times, for all ages. I think most of us mull over things at night, and sometimes even lose sleep over them. such a good lesson, you’ve give them a great tool.

    with my kids as they got older, I tried to teach them that even if wishing and/or praying, depending on your belief system, didn’t bring them their desired result, perhaps in time they might find the reason it didn’t turn out as they had hoped. it could a lesson they needed to learn, or something they never had thought of, but had turned out even better than what they had initially hoped for. this is another hard thing to learn, even for many adults.

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    1. Ah, such a good lesson. The other part is timing – it might happen but not for some time, right? As you said, a hard practice for adults too but letting go of what we can’t control seems essential to keeping moving. At least for me!

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  10. Thanks for sharing, Wynne. Two definitions to consider: 1. Faith: The steadfast conviction that what you cannot see shall come to pass. 2. Fear: The steadfast conviction that what you cannot see shall come to pass. Raise children in faith, and when the going gets tough (and it will), they shall not depart.

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  14. I love this Wynne. I can just see the 3 of your snuggled up in conversation and prayer. Most things we pray for come into fruition.
    When my youngest was about 8 she had a horrible cold and cough we couldn’t get over so I took her to acupuncture. She saw me get a treatment and at first said no and then got braver and tried a few needles and then she laid there quietly. When she was finished I asked how she felt and she said “I’m so relaxed and I’m not worried about whether George likes me or not”. It’s such an illustration of little worries that are big to them at the time. ❤️

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  15. What a lovely tradition you have with your kids at bedtime. I’m using the Hallow app for a Pray40 challenge. Your sentence “We need to empty our cups before we fill them” fits the prayer that is central this year.

    “Lord, empty me. Fill me. Use me.”

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    1. I’m sure it came from my college days going to frat parties. I spilled a lot of beer carrying around half-filled cups. 🙂 But we use our experiences in many ways, don’t we?

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  17. A number of Bible-promises affirm that all our prayers will be answered, but it’s always according to HIS will, not necessarily ours (1 John 5:14-15). Of course, his answers are always for our good (Romans 8:28). For example, if your son had to sit next to that “particular kid,” God may have used the circumstance to teach important life-lessons (to both boys). Another possibility: God might have worked the miracle of friendship between two unlikely prospects!

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  20. Getting our feelings out in the open helps calm our anxieties. “Emptying our cups” is an excellent way to put it.

    It’s tricky ground, even for us adults, to explain tragedies to children. How can we make sense out of why one child’s parent makes a full recovery while another succumbs to cancer?

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    1. You’re right that it’s tricky ground, Pete. Even when just dealing with classroom pets and wayward bunnies, right? But I agree – it’s the practice of getting our feelings out in the open that is helpful. Thanks for calling that out – exactly!

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  22. Wonderful inspiration here, always. Thank you so much, Wynne and may we continue to pray for the young ones whose worries are bigger than they know how to carry. 🙏🏻🙏🏻

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  23. I don’t know how many times I pray in the day–short prayer of gratitude and hope. You instill in them faith that is so important, Wynne. Stay amazing.

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  26. Wynne, I love this evening routine with your kids. I’m usually so frazzled, like right at this moment, after putting T to bed that I pray to thank God I didn’t smother him with a pillow. 😂

    I love your response to Dr Stein above and I agree that the ritual of praying at night is not so much about finding certainty that we’ll get what we ask for. But in the power of letting our worries and thoughts go to a higher power. There is a calming end to our day with that nightly release.

    I’m gonna go pray now. 😂😊💕

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