Prayers Before Sleep
Psalm 4 closes the Church's official night prayer: 'In peace in the selfsame I will sleep, and I will rest.' The Catholic bedtime pattern is old and short — thanksgiving, a quick examination, an act of contrition, and the guardian angel on watch.
Traditional prayers
Guardian Angel Prayer (Angel of God)
my guardian dear,
to whom God's love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side,
to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.
Act of Contrition
and I detest all my sins because of thy just punishments,
but most of all because they offend thee, my God,
who art all good and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help of thy grace,
to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin. Amen.
From Scripture
9In peace in the self same I will sleep, and I will rest:
10For thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope.
— Psalm 4, vv. 9-10, Douay-Rheims · read the full chapter
5His truth shall compass thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night.
6Of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil.
— Psalm 90 (91), vv. 5-6, Douay-Rheims · read the full chapter
Psalm numbers follow the Douay-Rheims (Vulgate) numbering; the common Hebrew numbering appears in parentheses.
How to use these prayers
Keep it under five minutes; night prayer that's too long doesn't survive the week. See our examination of conscience guides for the short form.