Orthodox prayers for nightmares and bad dreams

St Ephrem’s bedtime prayer asks Christ to keep away disturbing dreams, and Psalm 91:5 promises that you will not fear the terror of the night.

Picture: Melchior Paul von Deschwanden, A Guardian Angel Watches over a Sleeping Child, 1859

4 prayers and 1 to the saints

To be kept from bad dreams

St Ephrem’s prayer before sleep

Lord, if I stay awake to pray,let me stand before You pure;and if I sleep, my Saviour,let my sleep be free from sin.If I do wrong while I am awake,Lord, forgive me by Your grace;if I sin while I am asleep,let Your kindness be my atonement.

Through the cross on which You were humbled,give me sleep that refreshes me,and deliver me from disturbing dreamsand from unholy imaginings.Let the whole night lead mein sleep that is full of peace.Do not let evil beings rule over me,or thoughts full of wickedness.

Through Your living body, which I have eaten,deliver me from hateful desire,and I will lie down and sleep in peace.Let Your blood protect me.To my soul, which You made,give the freedom of Your likeness,and let Your right hand watch overthe body that Your hands have formed.

Let the wall of Your mercy surround melike a shield to defend me,and when my body lies still in sleep,let Your kindness guard it.Do not let the evil one come near my bed,through the prayers of the mother who bore You.By Your sacrifice for all people,drive Satan away, so that he does not pursue me.

Lord, keep Your promise to me,and guard my life by Your cross,and when I wake I will praise You,because You have shown Your love to me, lowly as I am.Let those who sleep, filled with rest,and the watchers who have armed themselves,give glory to You, O living Watcher,Who made me a watcher for Your praise.

Traditional wording, 1853

Grant, Lord, that if I keep my vigils,I may stand in purity before Thee;And if, oh my Saviour, I slumber,Let my sleep be free from sin.If in my watching I commit iniquity,Oh Lord by Thy grace forgive me;If I sin when sleeping,Let Thy kindness be my expiation.

And through the cross of Thy humiliation,Afford me refreshing slumber;And deliver me from disturbing dreams,And from profane imaginations;And in sleep full of peace,Let all the night conduct me;Let not evil beings have dominion over me,Nor thoughts full of iniquity.

And from hateful concupiscence deliver meThrough Thy living body which I have eaten;And I will lie down and sleep in peace.And let Thy blood be a protector to me:—And to the soul which is Thy productionGrant the freedom of Thy likeness;And let Thy right hand watch overThe body which Thy hands have formed.

Let the wall of Thy mercy encompass meLike a buckler of defence;And when my body is still, and slumbers,Let Thy kindness be its guard.Let not the evil one approach my couch,Thro’ the supplication of the mother who bare Thee;And by Thy sacrifice on behalf of all men,Put Satan to flight that he persecute me not.

And, Lord, perform Thy promise to me,And protect my life by Thy cross;And when I awake I will praise Thee,Because Thou hast displayed Thy love to my lowliness.From the sleepers, satisfied with rest,And the watchers who have put on their arms,Be glory to Thee, Thou guardian Spirit!Who hast made me a watcher for Thy praise!

A bedtime prayer from the Syriac hymns credited to St Ephrem. It asks Christ for refreshing sleep, free of disturbing dreams, and for the wall of His mercy to surround you.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from Henry Burgess’s 1853 English of the Syriac, with his notes on the Syriac words. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: Henry Burgess, Select Metrical Hymns and Homilies of Ephraem Syrus, 1853.

Where the plain wording calls Christ the “living Watcher”, Burgess’s verse has “guardian Spirit”. His own note gives the Syriac as “Thou living watcher”, meaning Christ.

Where it comes from, and the original

When you are afraid in the dark

Psalm 91

Whoever lives in the shelter of the Most Highwill rest in the shadow of the Almighty.I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress,my God, in Whom I trust.”

It is He Who will save you from the trapper’s snareand from the deadly plague.He will cover you with His feathers,and under His wings you will find refuge.His faithfulness is a shield and a wall.

You will not fear the terror of the night,nor the arrow that flies by day,nor the plague that walks in the darkness,nor the destruction that lays waste at noon.A thousand may fall at your side,ten thousand at your right hand,but it will not come near you.

You will only look on with your eyesand see how the wicked are repaid.Because you have made the LORD your home,the Most High, Who is my refuge,no harm will come to you,no plague will come near your tent.

For He will command His angels concerning youto guard you in all your ways.They will lift you up in their hands,so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.You will tread on the lion and the cobra;you will trample the young lion and the serpent.

“Because he loves Me, I will rescue him;I will set him safe on high, because he knows My name.He will call on Me, and I will answer him;I will be with him in trouble;I will deliver him and honour him.I will satisfy him with long lifeand show him My salvation.”

Traditional wording, 1611

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most Highshall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress:my God; in Him will I trust.

Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler,and from the noisome pestilence.He shall cover thee with His feathers,and under His wings shalt thou trust:His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night;nor for the arrow that flieth by day;Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness;nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.A thousand shall fall at thy side,and ten thousand at thy right hand;but it shall not come nigh thee.

Only with thine eyes shalt thou beholdand see the reward of the wicked.Because thou hast made the LORD, Which is my refuge,even the Most High, thy habitation;There shall no evil befall thee,neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For He shall give His angels charge over thee,to keep thee in all thy ways.They shall bear thee up in their hands,lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him:I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him:I will be with him in trouble;I will deliver him, and honour him.With long life will I satisfy him,and shew him My salvation.

Show the whole prayer

God covers you with His feathers, and you will not fear the terror of the night. It is a psalm to read aloud, slowly, when fear keeps you awake.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Hebrew, with the King James Version beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: The King James translators, The King James Version, 1611.

Where it comes from, and the original

For the room where you sleep

Blessing for a bedroom

Plain English only: no traditional English wording is given for this prayer

Bless, O Lord, this room where Your servants sleep,You Who neither slumber nor sleep,You Who keep Israel.

Guard Your servants who rest in this house after their workfrom the illusions and phantoms of Satan.

When they are awake, may they think on Your commandments;when they sleep, may they sense You;and here and everywheremay the help of Your protection keep them safe.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

A short Latin blessing from the early 800s, written for a monastery’s sleeping room. A parent might say it over a child’s bedroom, asking the God Who never sleeps to guard those who rest there.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Latin, in our own English (no traditional translation was found). How the wording is made.

Where it comes from, and the Latin

For a night without fear

Compline prayer of St Basil

Lord, Lord, You have saved usfrom every arrow that flies by day;save us also from everythingthat stalks in the darkness.Accept the lifting up of our handsas an evening sacrifice.

Grant that we may pass through this nightwithout blame and without being tempted by evil,and set us free from all the turmoil and fearthat the devil brings upon us.

Give our souls sorrow for sin,and turn our thoughts to the questioningwe will face at Your fearful and just judgment.

Nail down our flesh with the fear of You,and put to death what is earthly in us,so that even in the stillness of sleepwe may be filled with lightby the sight of Your judgments.

Take away from us every unseemly imaginingand every harmful desire.

Raise us up at the time of prayer,firm in the faithand growing in Your commandments,by the good will and the goodnessof Your only-begotten Son,with Whom You are blessed,together with Your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit,now and always and for ever and ever. Amen.

Traditional wording, 1891

Lord, O Lord, Who savest us from every arrow that flieth by day,save us from every danger that lurketh in darkness.Accept the lifting up of our hands as an evening sacrifice.

Let us pass through the watches of the night without defilement and without temptation,and deliver us from restlessness and fear of the devil.

Let the repentance of our souls and the examination of our intentionsin the light of Thy terrible and righteous judgmentbe pleasing before Thee.

Penetrate our flesh with fear of Thee,and mortify our earthly members,so that in our sleep we may be enlightened with the vision of Thy judgment.

Remove far from us every unseemly imagination and every harmful lust.

And rouse us at the hour of prayer,strengthened in faith and advanced in Thy commandments.Through the satisfaction and goodness of Thine only-begotten Son,with Whom, and with Thy most holy, and good, and life-creating Spirit,Thou art blessed, now and ever, and to ages of ages. Amen.

A prayer credited to St Basil the Great, from Great Compline, the Church’s longer night service in Lent. It asks God for light even in the stillness of sleep, and to take away every unseemly imagining.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Greek, checked against the Church Slavonic, with Shann’s 1891 English beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: G. V. Shann, Euchology, 1891.

Shann’s English parts from the Greek and the Slavonic in two places. Where they ask God to give our souls sorrow for sin and to turn our thoughts to His judgment, Shann asks that our repentance be pleasing to Him. Where they end “by the good will” of the Son, Shann has “satisfaction”.

Where it comes from, and the Church Slavonic

To the guardian angel · To the angel who guards you

Prayer to your guardian angel

Angel of Christ, my holy guardian,protector of my soul and body,forgive me every sin of this day.Deliver me from all the cunning of the enemy who fights me,so that I may not anger my God by any sin.

Pray for me, a sinful and unworthy servant,so that you may show me worthyof the goodness and mercy of the All-holy Trinity,of the Mother of my Lord Jesus Christ,and of all the saints. Amen.

Traditional wording, 1982

Angel of Christ, my holy guardian,the protector of my soul and body:forgive me for all the sins I have committed this day.Deliver me from all the evil of my militant enemy,that I may not anger my God by any sin.

Pray for me, your sinful and unworthy servant,that you may show me worthyof the goodness and mercy of the All-Holy Trinity,the Mother of my Lord Jesus Christand all the Saints. Amen.

For a child, or anyone, who is afraid at night. The prayer speaks to the angel who guards soul and body, and asks for its prayers before sleep.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Church Slavonic of the Russian prayer book. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: St Tikhon’s Seminary Press, Orthodox Daily Prayers, 1982.

Where it comes from, and the Church Slavonic

Scripture for this

¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me”— ¹²even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You.

Psalm 139:11-12 Even the darkness is not dark to God. The night shines like the day before Him.

The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?

Psalm 27:1 For a child who is afraid of the dark. The LORD is my light and my salvation, and there is no one to fear.

I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:4 David sought the LORD, and He answered him and delivered him from all his fears.

⁷I will bless the LORD Who counsels me; even at night my conscience instructs me. ⁸I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Psalm 16:7-8 Even at night David’s conscience instructed him, and with the LORD at his right hand he would not be shaken.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.

2 Timothy 1:7 God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-control.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.

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