Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Good night

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Luke 2:29-32
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,
according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles,
and the glory of thy people Israel.

One of my favorite times to be a Christian is at bedtime. I rarely have the sense then of being alone, but rather that Someone is with me.

The first prayer I remember praying at night, kneeling beside the bed sometimes, with my dad or mom sometimes, went this way:

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.
A....MEN!

While our kids were growing up, and sometimes still, the lynch-pin of our night-time prayers with them was something like this:

Lord, please put your angels all around this bed.
Keep Chris/Marc/Andi safe,
and give them good dreams.

And there are the beautiful prayers of the Compline (literally "night prayer"), the last prayers prayed daily in the Roman Catholic "liturgy of the hours:"

(Responsively)
Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
You have redeemed us, Lord, God of faithfulness.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

What follows is traditionally called the "Nunc Dimittis," the prayer Simeon prayed in Luke 2 after he embraced baby Jesus in the temple. His long life had reached fruition. "Let thy servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen thy salvation." And the prayer continues ...

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake,
and guard us as we sleep,
so that we can keep watch with Christ
and rest in peace.
Alleluia.

As Claire King writes in Living Faith Devotions, "If you are ever looking for a way to say 'good night' to God, join in the words of Simeon.

May the almighty Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end. A....MEN!

Devotions Archive

Good night

Thursday, December 29, 2005