Into Your Hands — A Prayer at the Close of Day

Into Your hands, Father, I commit my spirit.

These are old words.
David prayed them when his enemies were close.
Jesus prayed them on the cross, at the very end.
Your people have prayed them at nightfall for centuries,
and tonight I pray them too.

Into Your hands I put this day —
what went well, and what I'd do differently.
Into Your hands I put the people I love,
wherever they are sleeping tonight.
Into Your hands I put the things I can't fix,
and the things I am afraid of.

They are good hands.
They made the stars.
They touched lepers and blessed children.
They still carry the marks of the nails.

I can sleep in hands like these.
Into Your hands, Father, I commit my spirit.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

When to Pray This

Pray this at the very end of the day, as the last prayer before you turn out the light. People have said these words at nightfall for centuries, and the closing line is short enough to repeat as you drift off.

A Verse to Hold On To

"Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth." — Psalm 31:5 (BSB)