Catholic Bedtime Prayers: A Simple Way to End Your Day in Peace

If You're Lying Awake Tonight

Some people come to a page like this out of habit, wanting to teach their children a bedtime prayer. Others come at the end of a hard day — tired, anxious, grieving, or carrying something heavy they cannot put down. If that is you, read this slowly: the fact that you are reaching for God at the close of the day is already a prayer. You do not have to feel holy, and you do not have to get the words perfect.

Catholic night prayer is not a performance. It is the simple act of handing the day back to the One who gave it to you — the good you did, the wrong you regret, the worries you cannot fix — and trusting Him to keep watch while you rest. The prayers below have carried tired, ordinary people to sleep for a very long time. They can carry you tonight.

One honest note before we begin: prayer is real spiritual support, but it is not a substitute for professional medical or mental-health care. If your restless nights come with lasting anxiety, sleeplessness, or a darkness you cannot shake, please pray and reach out to a doctor or counselor. Grace and good care work together; God often heals through the help of others.

The Prayers to Pray Before Bed

Here is a complete set of traditional Catholic bedtime prayers. Pray all of them, or choose the two or three that fit the night you have had. Begin by making the Sign of the Cross.

Then, if you wish to make things right with God before you sleep, pray the Act of Contrition. It is the prayer of sorrow used in Confession, but it is also a beautiful way to close any day.

Next, ask the angel God has given you to keep watch through the night. This is the classic children's prayer, but grown men and women pray it too. See our fuller guide to the Guardian Angel prayer.

Finally, pray the Church's own night prayer. The Canticle of Simeon (the Nunc Dimittis, Luke 2:29–32) is the Gospel canticle sung every night at Compline. It is the song of an old man who, having held the Christ child, was ready to rest in peace — a perfect prayer to fall asleep to.

At Compline this canticle is framed by an antiphon that says exactly what a weary heart needs at night:

If the night feels dark or you are wrestling with fear, you may also want to pray the St. Michael Prayer for protection (its full text is in the next section).

The Saints and Guardians to Invoke at Night

Catholics do not pray into the dark alone. At night we call on the whole household of heaven to stand watch. Four are especially fitting before bed.

Your Guardian Angel. The Church teaches that God assigns each person an angel to guide and protect them. Nighttime is the natural moment to ask that protection, using the prayer above.

St. Michael the Archangel. The great defender against evil. Pope Leo XIII composed this prayer in 1886, and it has guarded Catholics ever since:

Our Lady. A single Hail Mary at bedtime places you under your Mother's care. You can also pray the Sub Tuum Praesidium, one of the oldest known prayers to the Virgin Mary, dating back to roughly the third century:

St. Joseph. Because he is traditionally honored as the patron of a happy death — he is believed to have died in the arms of Jesus and Mary — St. Joseph is a fitting patron for the daily "little death" of sleep. A simple "St. Joseph, pray for me" is enough.

How to Pray a Simple Night Examen

The heart of a Catholic bedtime routine is the examen — a short, honest look back over your day in God's presence. St. Ignatius of Loyola taught it as the one prayer he never wanted his followers to skip. It takes about five minutes and follows five gentle steps. There are no required words; just walk through your day with God.

1. Become aware of God's presence. Take a breath. Remember that God is here, closer to you than your own heart.
2. Give thanks. Look back over the day and name a few good things — small gifts, kindnesses, moments of grace — and thank God for them.
3. Review the day with honesty. Walk through the hours. Where did you love well? Where did you fall short, grow anxious, or turn away? Notice your feelings without judging yourself harshly.
4. Ask forgiveness and healing. Bring your failures to God. This is the moment to pray the Act of Contrition. If something needs more than a bedtime sorry, note it for the sacrament of Confession.
5. Look toward tomorrow. Ask God for the grace you will need, then hand the coming day over to Him. Close with an Our Father.

If you find it helpful to slow down and examine your conscience more carefully — especially before going to Confession — our free, guided examination of conscience walks you through it step by step.

When Sleep Won't Come: Anxiety, Grief, and a Restless Mind

Some nights the prayers are said and sleep still will not come. The mind keeps circling; the chest stays tight. If that is you, here are a few honest things.

You do not need the perfect words. When anxiety takes over, a whole examen may be too much. Shrink the prayer to something you can hold: repeat the name "Jesus" on each breath, or pray one line over and over — "Save us, Lord, while we are awake; protect us while we sleep." Repetition is not less spiritual; it is how tired people have prayed for centuries.

Scruples are not the same as sin. If your nights are consumed by replaying every fault and fearing you are never forgiven, you may be struggling with what the Church calls scrupulosity — and it responds to gentleness, not more anxious prayer. Please read our pastoral guide on Catholic scrupulosity, and consider bringing it to a trusted priest.

Prayer and professional help belong together. To say it plainly: this page offers spiritual support, not medical or psychological treatment. Persistent anxiety, insomnia, depression, or grief that will not lift are real conditions that deserve real care. Praying does not mean going it alone — talk to your doctor, a licensed counselor, and your priest. God works through them too, and seeking help is an act of faith, not a failure of it.

If you are in crisis — if the darkness has turned to thoughts of harming yourself — please reach out right now. In the United States you can call or text 988 (the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) at any hour. You are worth saving, and you are not a burden. Make the call, then pray.

A Five-Minute Nightly Rhythm You Can Keep

You do not need all of the above every night. The goal is a rhythm simple enough to keep even when you are exhausted. Here is one that takes about five minutes:

1. Make the Sign of the Cross.
2. Pray a short examen: thank God for the day, and name where you fell short.
3. Pray the Act of Contrition.
4. Pray to your guardian angel (and, if you wish, St. Michael or a Hail Mary).
5. End with the Canticle of Simeon or its antiphon, and let it be the last thing on your mind as you drift off.

Prayed faithfully, this becomes more than a routine — it becomes the way your days are handed back to God, one at a time, until handing over your whole life comes naturally. If you would like these night prayers, the Compline canticle, and a guided examen in your pocket, the Sanctum app carries them with you. And you can explore the individual prayers above in our full library of Catholic prayers.

Whatever kind of day you have had — rest now. He is keeping watch.