Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep…

This delightful old English prayer said by children and their parents at bedtime has long ago been shortened to only its last verse. There is more (as I was taught):

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,

Bless the bed that I lie on.

The are four corners to my bed,

Four angels round my head,

One to watch, and one to pray,

And two to bear my soul away.

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.

If you know more of the tradition of this prayer please share it.

About Fr. Stephen Freeman

Fr. Stephen is a retired Archpriest of the Orthodox Church in America, Pastor Emeritus of St. Anne Orthodox Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He is also author of Everywhere Present: Christianity in a One-Storey Universe, and Face to Face: Knowing God Beyond Our Shame, as well as the Glory to God podcast series on Ancient Faith Radio.

Posted

November 5, 2007

Orthodox Christianity

Comments

148 responses to “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep…”

Leigh

February 17, 2012

This hymn sounds so lovely (from The children’s hymnal and service-book at http://www.archive.org/details/MN41989ucmf_0):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jesus, Tender Shepherd, Hear Me
By Mary Lundie Duncan (1814-1840) & John Stainer (1840-1901)

Jesus, tender Shepherd, hear me;
Bless Thy little lamb tonight;
Through the darkness, be Thou near me;
Keep me safe till morning light.

Through this day Thy hand has led me;
And I thank Thee for Thy care;
Thou hast warmed me, clothed and fed me,
Listen to my evening prayer.

Let my sins be all forgiven;
Bless the friends I love so well;
Take me when I die, to heaven,
Happy there with Thee to dwell.
Amen.
PJ

February 22, 2012

I remember saying different versions of the “Lay Me Down To Sleep” prayer. Both my grandmothers had different versions, one was from England and a Baptist, the other from Germany and a Catholic. I was glad to find this website as I have found both versions here and now I can pass them along to my children and grandchildren.
TRON

February 24, 2012

If I should live another day…
I pray the lord to guide my way…

“Listen to the sounds, and not the words”
Just some thoughts learned…..
Jasmin

February 25, 2012

My mom taught me this way:
‘Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray thy Lord my soul to keep. Guide me safely though the night, and wake me up with morning light.’
Margaret

February 25, 2012

So there is a new comment and I have shared this post with Facebook. I’d like to add the song that my mother sang to me and I sang tomy daughter for a few years:

Now the day is over,
Night is drawing nigh,
Shadows of the evening,
steal across the sky,

Jesus, give the weary
Calm and sweet repose;
With Thy tend’rest blessing
May mine eyelids close.

When the morning wakens,
Then may I arise
Pure and fresh and sinless
In Thy holy eyes.
Robbie Cranch

March 1, 2012

We adapted this version for our children when they were toddlers:

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray to God my soul to keep.
Guard me through the starry night,
Wake me safe with sunshine bright.
I shall live for many days;
I pray Thee, God, to guide my ways.
Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep | Sage and Chocolate

March 5, 2012

[…] routine invariably involves saying this old prayer my family taught me when I was young. I was on Father Stephen Freeman’s blog “Glory to God for All Things” and found a few more verses — which I think […]
Drake Patterson

April 18, 2012

I would like to know this prayer with it being 2012 and all the world is supposed to end on december 21 and i choose not to believe it and i pray to GOD every night begging and asking him for the world to never end
Suzanne

April 22, 2012

Fr Stephen
Thanks for the blog about this prayer…its been very interesting to read so many different stories about it. My sister passed away on November 1st of 2011. My husband wrote a poem about her struggle and passing with the last stanza containing the 1st line of the short version of this prayer…”Now I lay me down to sleep”. Thanks again!
Suzanne
Melissa

May 3, 2012

Angels on my left and right; To keep me safe all through the night.
Melissa

May 23, 2012

I’ll add another version…this is what I have sang to my son since he was just itty bitty (he’s almost 9 now), it’s the only way to get him to peaceful sleep quickly:

now i lay me down to sleep
I pray the lord my soul to keep
if i die before i wake
i pray the lord my soul to take
four corners over head
four post upon my bed
matthew, mark, luke and john
bless this bed i lie upon
john, matthew, luke and mark
grant my wish and keep it dark
angels watching over me
from heaven high above
wake me with the morning light
protect me with his love
amen

the weird part is, I didn’t know there was such a thing as the MML&J nursery rhyme…I made it all up one VERY Sleepy night…It stuck and now he sings it with me… 🙂
karen oteri

June 13, 2012

I found this prayer in my Mother”s Bible after her Passing Thanksgiving morning 2003.I have the original in her handwriting and made a baby quilt with the quote do not know from whence it came.
Now i lay me down to sleep
I pray thee Lord. thy child to keep
Thy love go with me all the night
and wake me with the morning light.
I say my prayers and hop into bed,
straighten the pillow and smooth the spread.
Someone is coming you can easily see…
to dreamland we’ll go…my Lord and me…

Thank you for letting me share
TRON

July 16, 2012

If I should live another day
I pray the lord to guide my way
allyson

October 5, 2012

My mother-in-law insist that this prayer is a witches spell. She is harrassing my children about saying it. Here it is…
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Bless this bed I lay upon
Four corners to my bed
Four angels to my head
One to watch, one to pray
And two to carry my troubles away.

I thought this was a very sweet prayer and easy to remember. Who is right, me for believing it was a prayer or her for believing it is a witch’s spell?
fatherstephen

October 5, 2012

You. It has a very ancient Christian history. Witches don’t ask for blessings. If it troubles you, add: “In Jesus name, Amen.”
Ashley

October 22, 2012

Growing up my grandmother taught me to pray this after the Lord’s prayer
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

Ive taught my daughter
Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
The angels watch me thru the night, and keep me in thier blessed night
Robin

October 30, 2012

Found this site when searching for the prayers I was taught as a child , I want to teach my 2 year old granddaughter …. I simply love it & have spent 90 minutes reading every comment …. Thank you all .
Freya

December 5, 2012

I was looking for an old book of nursery ryhmes with a version of this in because I wanted something to say before I go to sleep, I’ve gone through all the comments and found some really beautiful prayers and songs, I can remeber being read this prayer about nine years ago when I was really small, and as I said, I wanted something to say before going to sleep.
Thank you
Nancy E Pordon

December 11, 2012

This is the morning prayer that I remember.

Now I wake me up to work.
I pray the Lord I will not shirk.
Guide my steps along the way,
and help me honor You this day.
drewster2000

December 13, 2012

Fr. Stephen,

The picture. Since a number of people asked about it in this thread, I took a second look at it and realized that my parents have a copy of it that I’ve always liked. Did you ever find anything else about it in your research?
drewster2000

December 13, 2012

Guardian Angel picture:

Wikipedia says it was from a German postcard around 1900, that the author was unknown but the work is similar to that of Fridolin Leiber:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Guardian_Angel_1900.jpg
PhiDor

February 1, 2013

I learned this prayer almost as soon as I could speak. It was the “if I die” version. I recently changed it to this version that I say every night.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray thee Lord,our/my soul(s) to keep.
Hold us safely in your arms tonight,
And wake us with the morning light.

I think the last two lines make it a calming, restful closure to the day.

I learned about Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John later in life, but am happy to find out it was all the same prayer.

God Bless everyone.
Chey

March 2, 2013

I remember learning the apparently more morbid version when I was little, and when I was about 8, and my little sister was around 2 and starting to learn to say prayers, I found the angels prayer, which I taught her added on to the end of the first, but apparently I was missing a line.
“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.
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Four corners ’round my bed
Four angels ’round my head
One to watch and one to pray
And two to keep all harm away.”
Ange

April 8, 2013

When I was expecting my child, I had grown up knowing this prayer…I thought it was morbid. Whe my child was born, I changed it… “Please help me sleep till morning light, and keep me safe all through the night”. That is the only version they know, now…and it hasn’t anything to do with “If I should die before I wake…” I did the same thing with Rockabye Baby. I changed the lyrics so it wasn’t so morbid. Why do people write children’s songs to sound so horrible?
sunday dare

April 14, 2013

I only knew the first line when i was in school, our teacher thought us but i just discover that this poem is meaningless, ‘Four corner of my bed’ but i search on google to show my the lyric of the poem that is how i get here. Thanks for letting me know this.
Pamela Koefoed

July 1, 2013

My Nana taught me this prayer when I was very young, probably at around three years of age. I said it most every night until I was in my teens. When I taught it to my children, we replaced the scary words with, “Thy love guard us through the night.” I included it in my memoir, JoyRide, because it is such a fond and lovely memory for me.

Until I found your article, I had no idea there were additional verses. Thank you for sharing this.
Blessings, Pamela
Tracy Jones

July 12, 2013

I only knew the “scary” version as a child, then my daughter taught me this one when she was just 7-8yrs old. I still say it today and she is now 26. 🙂

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
May Angels guide me through the night
And keep me safe til morning light.
Bless my home and all those in it
Each and every single minute
And when I wake again I pray:
Dear Lord stay with me through the day.
Help me to grow kind and strong
Watch over me the wole day long
And when it’s time to sleep again
Please tuck ne in with Love, Amen
Rejoice

October 22, 2013

Thanks father stephen for this wonderful site, i’ve been searching for the full version of this rhyme/prayer for a very long time and I finally found it. I learnt the rhyme as a child, I’m Nigerian and roman catholic. It was lovely reading all the comments, thanks to everyone who contributed to making this site what it is.
Brittany

December 4, 2013

This is the version that my Grandfather learned as a child being raised in Christian Science. It’s similar to one that Jill Lee shared on here on 10/11/10 from Georgia, but my Grandpa was raised in Wisconsin! It comforted and helped him as he fought in the Korean War, and I plan on having my son say it every night at bedtime.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I know that God, His child will keep,
I know that God, my Life, is nigh
I live in Him and cannot die.
God is my health, I can’t be sick
God is my strength, unfailing quick
God is my all, I know no fear
For God, and Love and Truth are here
Andrew Schroer

July 3, 2014

Thanks for teaching me something new. Without knowing that, I recently wrote an article about the last part which I say every night with my daughter. If you have a chance, check it out: http://364daysofthanksgiving.com/daddy-dont-want-die/
I would be curious to hear what y’all think. Thanks!
Rev. Dr. Daniel Schroeder

December 4, 2015

The version I learned was: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray thee Lord my soul to take. I pray this all for Jesus’ sake, Amen.”

Another “death-free” version I remember hearing is: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep. Guide me through the starry night, and wake me when the sun shines bright. Amen.”
Philip Schaan

January 16, 2016

Has any body have the words for , O Jesus dear before I sleep I thank thee and I pray
Irene

January 18, 2016

We said this every night before we went to sleep, would say it was varied so it would sound more like a night time prayer .
This is what I was taught over years ago !

There are four corners on my bed,
There are four Angels round my spread,
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,
God bless the bed that I lay on,
If I die before I wake,
I pray to god my soul to take.

We would then bless everyone we knew, just in case they had not prayed before they went to bed ! Roman Catholic, my Mother is English she was brought up in Ireland. So anybody’s guess where the prayer originates.
Lelia

January 19, 2016

As I lay on my right hand side. I pray to God to be my guide. If any evil happen me O Blessed Lady waken me. There are four corners on my bed, four Angles there are spread. If I should die before I wake I pray to God my soul to take. Let Heaven be my bed Matthew, Mark, Luke & John, God Bless this bed that I lay on. God within, God without, God forever about this house Amen This is the way my father taught this pray to me. He died 18 years ago. My Aunt who is still alive at 83 still remembers her father saying this pray with her every night. I now say it to my 9 year old at night.
Vinson Vaz

September 28, 2016

Hello people,

From all those who have contributed and my persistence in trying to recollect the prayer, here is what my mother was able to contribute to this beautiful prayer we recited as children every night.

“God bless our home from roof to floor,
Twelve Apostles guard the door,
Four angels around my bed,
One to sing, one to pray,
Two to carry my soul away.

Mathew, Mark, Luke and John,
Bless the bed that I lay on.
And if I die before I wake,
I pray to God my soul to take.”
Ernest

May 19, 2017

I remember this was sung in the infants class at my state school in London during the last war.
Sadly it does not imbibe an understanding of the gospel, The Lord’s prayer not only has the grand theme of the Gospel and its hope for the world, it leads us to understand prayer and praise rather than human sentiment. the Bible is the only source of Christian knowledge. not any church of whatever name.
Michael Coon

November 11, 2019

One that I was taught:

Now 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.

Father in Heaven hear my prayer,
And keep me in thy loving care.
Be my guide in all I do,
And bless all those who love me too.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,
Bless this bed I lay upon.
Four corners to my bed,
Four angels around my head.
One to watch and one to pray,
And two to keep the harm away.

Help us do the things we should,
To be to others kind and good.
In all we do and all we say,
To grow more loving every day,,

Amen.
Francis

May 3, 2020

Wow! I’m super excited, I’ve tried several times to recollect this my childhood prayer for over 15yrs now . Thank God I found it here, God bless you!
Barry

September 22, 2020

As I lay down to sleep to god I give my soul to keep there are four corners in my bed with four sweet angels around my head Matthew mark luke and John god bless the bed that they lay on,
On Good Friday the Jews came with spears so sharp that struck our savior through the side and through the heart ,
Who shall ever say this prayer three times a night three times a day shall never see the burning flames of hell, sweet Jesus amen..
Theresa

November 5, 2020

Hi my name is Theresa. I first heard of this night prayer in my first year of boarding school and I loved it. Honestly it was music to my ears and it went like this:
Mathew, Mark, Luke and John
Bless the bed I lay on
Before I lay down to sleep
I pray to God my soul to keep
Four corners to my bed, four Angel’s there are spread
Two at my feet, two at my head, four to carry me when I’m dead.
I go by sea, I go by land; The Lord made me with his right hand
If I should die before I wake
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
Afsana Wahab

June 3, 2021

I am a Muslim but was brought up in a Catholic convent (that’s another story). I learnt this prayer from sister Joan of Arc when I was 8 or 9 years old. Together with the Islamic prayers, I have said this prayer every night (I am 67 years old now) . For some reason it gave me immense confort to know that ,even in my sleep I was not alone. Now, I say this prayer with my grand daughters (5 and 3 years old) but have changed the scary (death) part with ‘ …one to watch and one to pray and two to chase bad dreams away’. They love it.
Olga. Bagley

March 11, 2023

When I pray now I lay me down to sleep & I forgot to mention someone does it still matter or do I start over again
Fr. Stephen Freeman

March 11, 2023

Olga,
I would simply pick up where you left off and continue.
Theresa

March 13, 2023

My Irish Granny taught me the prayer as-
Here I lay myself down to sleep
I give my soul to God to keep
I wake in thou I wake in heaven
I give my soul to God forever.
There is four angels on our bed
There is four angels on our spread-
Matthew Mark Luke & John
God bless the bed that we lie on.

My Granny gabbled a lot of prayers every night when I was little to teach me. It was years after she died I stopped thinking it was Mathan Mark & realised it was Matthew Mark 😄
Ned Mcdonagh

August 13, 2023

The prayer my mother taught me. As I lay me down to sleep i pray the Lord my soul to keep, and if a danger comes to thee may the blessed Virgin awaken me. There are four corners on my bed there are four Angels around my head, Matthew, Mark,Luke and John bless this bed that I lay on. My mother has learned her great grandchildren this, it’s humble and contrite but with the simple rymhing it’s more fun for kids .
Christie

August 28, 2023

I used to pray this as a child… i forgot until today.. i ‘m sick and anxious and couldn’t sleep..i remembered this prayer but not all parts and searched it online and found it.

Thank you
Anita Lane

September 3, 2023

A slightly different version Grandmother taught to end my prayers
Matthew,Mark,Luke and John
Bless this bed I lay on
Seven angels guard my bed
Four at each corner
One at each side
And one at my head
To speed to God the Prayer I’ve said
Micah

January 27, 2024

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John bless the bed that I will lie on four corners of my bed four Angels there are spread two at my feet two at my head four to carry me when I’m dead I go by sea I go land God made me with his right hand if any evil shall come my way sweet Jesus protect me he is the branch I am the flower I pray God sends me a happy hour if I should die before I wake I my Lord\God my soul to take

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