After a long day, we look forward to coming home, eating a nice dinner, relaxing, and eventually going to sleep to prepare for another day to come. But an even better way to end our night is to come before God in prayer and commune with Him. As we pray to God at night, there are so many things we can pray and talk with Him about. Starting the day with a prayer is an excellent practice, but it’s also wonderful to end our day by praying to God at night.
Heavenly Father, may I always remember to pray with You after a long day. May I always come before Your altar of grace and worship You in prayer. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Many Reasons To Pray
Why should we pray at night? You may be wondering if your morning prayer to start the day is enough. Verses like Psalm 63:6 and Deuteronomy 6:5 show us there are many reasons why one who loves God is motivated to pray to Him at night. Here are several:
A Good Prayer at Night
1. We are to thank God for everything.
The Bible calls us to thank God no matter our circumstances. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 teaches us that we are to give thanks in everything, for that is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us. Suppose we had a great day at work, school, or home. Indeed, we are to thank God for it. However, even if we had a bad day, we should still thank God as the day ends and the night comes. In our limited perspective, maybe nothing went well during our day—but we are unaware of the millions of things God has been doing behind the scenes for us and our well-being! You might have been so busy thinking about your bad day while driving home that you didn’t notice you narrowly missed a drunk driver who could have collided with you and caused your death. The Lord, in His providence, always keeps us and looks after us (Psalm 121:7–8, ESV; Matthew 6:26). Even on bad days, God’s goodness and lovingkindness still follow us (Psalm 23:6, Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.). Those are reasons enough for us to thank and worship God at night as our day ends.
A Good Prayer at Night
2. We pour out to God in prayer.
When we have a bad day, aside from desiring to thank God for the countless unknown things He does for our well-being, we should be all the more motivated to pour our hearts out to Him in prayer as the day comes to a close. God is our heavenly Father; in Christ, we are adopted as His children (Ephesians 1:5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship[b] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will). We can come before His throne and cry out to Him with whatever hardships, struggles, pains, and sorrows we encounter during the day. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18, The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.). Even the Psalms are filled with prayer and crying out before the Lord (Psalm 86:1–5). Pour out to God and ask Him to comfort and strengthen you (2 Corinthians 1:3–4; Isaiah 41:10).
A Good Prayer at Night
A Good Prayer at Night
3. We always depend on God.
Another reason we should pray to God at the end of the day is that we are always dependent on Him, whether morning, noon, or night. (Romans 11:36 For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.) tells us that from God, through God, and to God are all things. He is the source, He is the means, and He is the end goal. This verse teaches us about the self-sufficiency of God, who is infinite. We, on the other hand, are not self-sufficient. We are finite, so we always need a source to rely on that sustains every aspect of our lives. God can do this for us. So, as believers, we must humble ourselves and depend on God in prayer (Philippians 4:6–7).
A Good Prayer at Night
Prayer Put Into Action
Knowing that praying to God at night involves thanking Him, pouring out to Him, and depending on Him, how do we put these into action? Below is an example of a prayer we can pray at night:
Father in heaven, I thank You for my day today. Thank You because, even though nothing extraordinary happened, You kept me safe during my commute to and from work. I was able to eat properly today and come home safely to my family. Thank you for protecting my family while I was away. You know the problems that we are having at work. Help me, Lord, and give me the wisdom to solve our problems. Strengthen us, Lord. Provide for our future needs, Father, just as You have faithfully provided for us today. I rely on You for the strength that I need to face another day tomorrow. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Just as we pray to God, our heavenly Father, as we face another day in the morning, we can pray to God and commune with Him before we rest at night. He is the One who holds our right hand and looks after us.