In the hash and dash life on this topsy-turvy planet with so many things to remember, what is your earliest memory of God? For me it was encounter with his presence via the Now I Lay me Down to Sleep prayer.
My parents were such gentle souls…each as gentle as the other. With all the goodness in my ‘child’ life…the icing on the cake was each night as one or the
other parent tucked me and my two sisters into bed…and we recited the following:
Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake… I pray you, Lord, my soul will take.I was a cautious child who stuttered. I had bunches of questions and not as many answers. But I trusted my parents COMPLETELY. And they had great confidence in the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep prayer. Therefore, every word in it was surely accurate. Every night as I recited its words…I thought on their meaning. ‘My soul to keep’ gave my child’s heart a sweet peace in believing I would be safe through the night. That some higher parent would keep me safe while all the family slept.
Then….there’s the big verse……’If I should die before I wake.’ Die? Wittie bittie me? Die? Must be so since it was in the prayer. The reality was …I could die in my sleep! Wow! Die! Me! Hmmmm. But
I quickly accepted that death was part of life. That it must in some way be a good thing since my parents so easily walked away from my bed at night….knowing I could die in my sleep. So….since death ‘before I wake’ is a possibility…then ‘my soul to keep’ was also a good and right thing. ‘I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep.’ Even now…as I’m thinking and writing these things, I can feel the same ‘child’s’ peace given me each night by the words of the sweet prayer. Wow. Peace!
I knew how very much my parents loved me and my two sisters. No little girls were more loved. They safeguarded us with such tender care. So, if my parents so completely trusted my soul to go with the Lord, then I knew I would be safe. Over time, saying the prayer every night, the inner ‘me’ came to know the personality of this spiritual being, Lord. He was good. He was kind. Had to be since He watched over the children all through the night…every night. He became real to me. And every night, after the tugging of the covers ritual with my two sisters, I fearlessly closed my eyes…and trusted the good friend to keep me safe through the night.
Because of one little child’s bedtime prayer, I learned very early in my ‘child’ days about the goodness of God. I know about judgement and wrath. And I know those things are for those who don’t trust in His goodness and watchcare over them. If you are one of the untrusting, say the prayer with me now:
Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray you, Lord, my soul will keep.
If I should die before I wake..
I pray you, Lord, my soul will take. Amen.
Thank you Daddy and Mother for your love for me and your faithfulness to our Father. Both your souls are with Him now….safe in His keeping.
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