Father God,
I lay my life in Your hands this night.
Give me peace that I will be alright.
Shine on me that I’ll dwell in Your light.
Keep me close and always hold me tight.
You are my God – my complete delight
Father, I am wholly Yours – Good night.
Evening devotions
Evening Trust
I entrust my body and soul to Your tender, gentle and mighty hands this night. For the darkness is not darkness to You. No evil dares confront You. You are Lord and sovereign King. You are my loving Father. You are all of this and more – and I am Yours and thus i have no fear. So i entrust my body and soul to You this night and forevermore.
More So
Creator God,
The lilies of the field neither toil nor spin.
The birds of the air neither sow nor reap.
They simply go about their existence with no fret, fear or worry.
Oh God, as You provide for the lilies and the birds, more so do you provide for me.
And so…
May I rest this night in the sure and certain promise that as You never fail the birds and lilies, more so will You never fail me.
May I rest this night in the sure and certain promise that as You know every single bird and lily, more so do You know me.
May I rest this night knowing that as You never lose sight of a single bird or lily, more so will You never lose sight of me.
As I rest this night, may I know as Your eye is upon the sparrow, it is more so upon me.
As a father watches over his children at night, more so do You hover over me.
Oh God, my Father, I lay down in peace, more so than the birds and lilies.
Amen.
A Child’s Nighttime Blessing
Good night my sweet child,
Rest your weary head.
May the Lord bless and keep you.
May the Lord grant you peace.
You are my sweet child and I love you dear, but you are a child of God and He loves you even more.
I cannot always see you but Jesus is always near.
So rest my sweet child and dream good dreams – may they be filled with joy.
And one more thing, as you drift off to your sleepy land,
Your Daddy in heaven has defeated the one who would harm you.
So do not fear the darkness for Jesus is your nightlight.
So good night my sweet child and rest.
You are in good hands.
Sweet Lord
I am drawn to writing prayers/blessings concerning the day’s end. I mean, what a vulnerable time to be lying in bed sleeping, trusting that everything will be alright. Kids sleeping down the hall. Everything quiet. Your brain is in deep sleep. You are seemingly at the mercy of any evil that may befall your home. But praise be to God, through Christ Jesus my Lord – He has my back (as it were). And so, I can say, “Good night, sweet Lord” and drift off to sleep in peace.
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Good night, sweet Lord, may I rest this night,
And wake tomorrow to the morning’s light.
In Your arms I am always alright.
Just You, sweet Lord, are my heart’s delight.
Good night, sweet Lord, protect me this night.
Surround me with love and keep me from fright.
For Satan does seek my soul to incite.
So oh, sweet Lord, please keep me in sight.
Good night, sweet Lord, please hold me so tight.
That I may feel Your strong holy might.
Your glory, oh Lord, I’m pleased to recite.
Good night, sweet Lord, my soul You excite.
May…
May the Lord bless and keep you.
May His Love overwhelm you.
May His strong hand protect you.
May Your sins convict you.
May His grace still amaze you.
May His forgiveness humble you.
May His Spirit transform you.
May Jesus comfort you.
May this Truth give you peace,
this night and always.
Rest, child of God, rest.
Amen.
Rest-filled Blessing
I post this evening blessing for you as a reminder as you prepare to retire for the day. I will be meditating on this shortly; before I fall asleep. There is so much swimming in my head by days end, that I just need something peaceful to reflect on as I drift off. May you find peace through this blessing.
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May the peace of God through Jesus Christ comfort your weary soul.
May it soothe all you hurts.
May it calm all your fears.
May Your heavenly Father hold the Evil One at bay;
fighting the fight as you rest your tired body.
As you close your eyes and drift off to sleep this night,
may your final images be that of your Savior:
– Cradling you in his arms,
– Gazing into your eyes,
– Whispering once again his promises to you.
May these images fill you with peace so that your body can be restored for another day of showing the world the love of God.
Rest assured, child of God, that your Savior watches over you.
You are loved by your Father in heaven.
Rest with the knowledge that you are filled with His blessing.
Amen.
Good Night Promise
The writing of this the other night brought me peace as I drifted off to sleep. I guess that is why I write many of these evening blessings/poems while in bed. It is good for the brain and the soul to give them something else to chew on other than the stress and troubles of the day. At the end of the day; powerless to do anything about what happened that day or what will happen tomorrow, all I want to know is that my life is secure in God’s hands. I want to know that everything will ultimately be alright.
May this poem bring you peace as you retire at day’s end. God’s promise to you, in Jesus Christ, is that you are His forever. Even in the vulnerable state of sleeping, your soul is always safe in Him. Let your troubles go and rest in Him.
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Good night my lovely one.
Lay down your weary head.
Relax those tired eyes.
Your day is now all done.
Good night my little one.
Your soul is safely kept.
If death shall quickly come.
In Jesus you have won.
Good night my chosen child.
You will be always mine.
My longing gaze at you.
Will always bring a smile.
Now rest and sleep this night.
And do not fear or fret.
I’ll keep you close to me.
You’ll never leave my sight.
Peace-Filled Sleep
As You stand watch over me,
I can rest in peace this night.
I can close my eyes and sleep,
And Know that I’ll be alright.
For Satan will not distress,
Nor demons ever annoy.
Evil will not disturb me,
Nor devils ever destroy.
So,
I rest secure,
And You ensure,
That my life is surely Thine.
I sleep in peace,
Your love won’t cease,
Thus Satan should just resign.
Oh Jesus died for my sins.
My life is most surely His.
I will not fret,
And won’t forget,
Through him I certainly win.
So if death comes near to me,
Looking for this life to take.
I still won’t fear,
For You are near,
And with You I’ll always be.
So yes I will close my eyes.
In peace I will surely sleep.
My life is claimed,
In Jesus’ name,
Thus my life has no demise.
Silence
Silence can be loud.
My wife and kids are driving back to the Midwest. I will join them on Thanksgiving Day after a nice little red eye flight. In the meantime, I’m in this quietly loud house by myself. It is so loud that my ears are ringing from the silence. My wife suggested that I turn the T.V. on for some background noise, but I’m not going to do that. This loud silence is calming. Strange, but it is.
You see, silence is a premium in our world. There’s always some noise. Here…it is so quiet that the typing sounds of my keyboard is almost too loud. And now my house is creaking. I don’t think I have ever heard those noises before. And now, standing here in my kitchen…
(yes, I am standing in my kitchen typing this because, well, I can)
…I can hear my neighbor working in his garage. I don’t think I have ever heard him before like this. Wow, that fish tank is loud. Hmm, my refrigerator sounds like that? Amazing what silence can do; what it can reveal.
Can you see…ummm…I mean, hear where I am going with this?
In this deafening silence I am hearing how much I am missing. No, not my neighbor working in his garage or that loud fish tank, but God. My kids go to bed and I turn on my T.V. or peruse social media. I have to have noise of some sort. Rarely do I just sit in silence because it almost feels like wasting time. I have to accomplish something, especially with the kids sleeping (or gone), right?
I miss so much…
[Silence]
I’m back. I was enjoying the silence again.
I need to find more times like this.
I need to soak in silence.
I need to listen to the still, small voice of God…more often.
I need to focus.
I need silence.
Silence is not scary.
Silence is not a waste of time.
Silence is not non-productive time.
Silence is a gift. Embrace it. Cling to it. Listen…
[Silence]
The Pastor -|—
The Heart of a Pastor 