Jewish Prayer for Sleep
In Jewish tradition, the day doesn't simply end at bedtime—it closes with prayer, most notably the recitation of the Shema before sleep, a practice known as Kriat Shema al HaMitah (the reading of the Shema upon the bed). A Jewish prayer for sleep is rooted in this centuries-old custom of entrusting the soul to God for the night, echoing the trust found in verses like Psalm 31's 'into your hand I commit my spirit' alongside the Shema's central declaration of God's oneness. As a Christian site, we don't claim to teach this practice as insiders—we want to describe it respectfully and accurately, as a meaningful window into how another faith tradition prays before sleep.
Below you'll find the Shema itself, some context on the broader bedtime liturgy, and original prayers written in that same spirit of surrender at day's end. However you pray, ending the day by entrusting it to God is a practice worth learning from.
The Shema, the Heart of Jewish Bedtime Prayer
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4) This declaration is recited nightly in the practice known as Kriat Shema al HaMitah—the reading of the Shema upon the bed—as an affirmation of trust in God before sleep.
A Short Prayer for Peaceful Sleep
God of my fathers, I entrust this night to You. Watch over my body as I rest and my mind as I dream, and bring me safely into the morning. Amen.
A Prayer for Releasing the Day
Eternal One, before I sleep, I let go of what this day held—the tasks I didn't finish, the words I regret, any hurt I'm still carrying from someone else. Help me forgive as I hope to be forgiven, and let me lie down with a heart at rest, not one still tangled in today's troubles. Watch over my household while we sleep, and let us wake tomorrow ready to begin again. Amen.
A Prayer for Comfort at Day's End
God of my ancestors, tonight I bring You the weight of this day, its joys and its sorrows both. You have carried Your people through every kind of night across every generation. Carry me through this one. Quiet my mind, settle my body, and let me know that I do not close my eyes alone. Amen.
A One-Line Prayer to Whisper
Into Your hand I entrust my spirit tonight; watch over me, God of truth, until morning. Amen.
A Longer Prayer of Trust Before Sleep
Eternal God, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, I come to You at the end of this day the way Your people have come to You for generations—entrusting body and soul to Your care before sleep. This day held its measure of both blessing and struggle, and I bring all of it before You now rather than carrying it silently into the night. For any way I fell short today, in word or deed, I ask forgiveness. For anyone who wronged me today, I choose, as best I can, to let it go rather than carry it to bed with me. Watch over my household tonight—over everyone sleeping under this roof, and over the ones I love who are elsewhere. Guard us from harm, from fear, and from troubled dreams. Let my body find real rest and my mind find real quiet. And when morning comes, let me wake with gratitude for another day of life, ready to begin again with a clear heart. Into Your hand I entrust my spirit, tonight and always. Amen.
Scripture to pray
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.— Deuteronomy 6:4
Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, LORD, my faithful God.— Psalm 31:5
Frequently asked questions
What is the Jewish bedtime prayer called?
The Jewish bedtime prayer practice is called Kriat Shema al HaMitah, meaning 'the reading of the Shema upon the bed,' and centers on reciting the Shema along with additional psalms and personal petitions before sleep. It is a well-established nightly custom observed by many Jews as a way of ending the day in prayer.
What does the Shema say?
The Shema begins, 'Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one' (Deuteronomy 6:4), affirming God's oneness as the central declaration of Jewish faith. It is recited at multiple points in Jewish daily prayer, including as the centerpiece of the nightly bedtime liturgy.
Can non-Jewish people pray a version of this bedtime practice?
People from other faith traditions can appreciate and be inspired by the Jewish practice of ending the day in prayer, though the Shema itself carries specific meaning within Jewish faith and identity that's worth honoring rather than appropriating. This page is written to inform respectfully about the practice, and the original prayers offered here draw on its spirit of nightly trust rather than replacing or reinterpreting Jewish liturgy.