It is late. The house is finally quiet. Your little one is asleep in your arms, or almost asleep, and you meant to pray over them tonight. But you are so tired that the words will not come.
If that is you, take a breath. God is not grading your bedtime prayers. He sees the tired mama and daddy rocking in the dark, and He loves you there.
Your baby is a gift from His hand
Psalm 127:3 says, “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”
The little one sleeping on your chest came from the Lord. That means you are not raising this child alone. The One who gave them to you is watching over them too, all night long.
He gently leads the ones who carry little ones
There is a beautiful picture of God in Isaiah 40:11: “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”
Gently lead. That is how He treats parents of little ones. He knows you are running on very little sleep. He is not rushing you or disappointed in you. He is gently leading you, one night at a time.
A blessing can be one sentence long
You do not need a long prayer at the end of a long day. Some of the most powerful words in Scripture are short. The blessing God gave the priests to speak over His people is only three lines:
“The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).
You can whisper that over your baby tonight. That is enough.
Simple ways to bless your baby at bedtime
- Speak one verse. Psalm 4:8 is perfect for bedtime: “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.”
- Say their name in your prayer. “Lord, bless [name] tonight.” Hearing your voice say their name with love is a gift.
- Pray while you do what you are already doing. Feeding, rocking, and swaying are all good times to pray.
- Keep a prayer close by. When your mind is too tired to find words, having one ready to read makes it easy.
A blessing for every night of the year
That last idea is why I wrote Bedtime Blessings for My Baby: 365 Spoken Prayers and Scripture, a Keepsake for New Parents. It gives you a prayer and a Scripture to speak over your baby every night of the year, so on the tired nights, the words are already there for you.
Find Bedtime Blessings for My Baby on Amazon
His mercies are new in the morning
Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
If tonight you only manage a whisper, that is all right. Tomorrow brings new mercy, for you and for your little one.
A prayer for you tonight
Lord, thank You for this precious child. I am tired, but I am grateful. Watch over my baby while they sleep, and give me Your strength and peace. Bless them, keep them, and let them grow up knowing You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
With love,
Kalinda Grace