Now I lay me down to sleep is a Christian children's bedtime prayer from the 18th century.

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Perhaps the earliest version was written by George Wheler in his 1698 book The Protestant Monastery, which reads: Upon lying down, and going to sleep. Here I lay me down to sleep. To thee, O Lord, I give my Soul to keep, Wake I ever, Or, Wake I never; To thee O Lord, I give my Soul to keep for ever. A later version printed in The New England Primer goes: 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.

Other versions

Grace Bridges, 1932: Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray my lord my soul to keep, In the morn when I awake Please teach me the path of life to take. Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; His Love to guard me through the night, And wake me in the morning's light amen. Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; Please angels watch me through the night, And keep me safe till morning light. Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; Angels watch me through the night, And wake me with the morning light. Amen Now I wake to see the light, As God has kept me through the night; And now I lift my voice to pray, That Thou wilt keep me through the day. Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, See me safely through the night, And wake me with the morning light. Amen. It is sometimes combined with the "Black Paternoster", one version of which goes: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Bless the bed that I lie on. Four corners to my bed, Four angels round my head; One to watch and one to pray And two to bear my soul away. Sometimes the prayer ends with, “and this I ask for Jesus’ sake. Amen.”

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