An evening prayer for love is a way to bring the day’s relationships, failures and tenderness before God before you sleep. Pray it at bedtime, in the car after a long shift, or whenever the house finally goes quiet. You can read it aloud exactly as written, or use it as a starting point and speak in your own words.
Evening Prayer for Love
Father, the day is ending, and I bring it to you as it is. Some of my words were sharp, and some of my kindness was only half-hearted. I was impatient with the people I love most, and I was quick to assume the worst about someone who needed grace. Forgive me, and help me see where I fell short so I can make it right tomorrow.
Thank you for the people you have placed around me. Thank you for the one who waited up, the friend who checked in, the child who hugged me without being asked. Where love has been hard to give or hard to receive, soften my heart and theirs. Teach me to be patient in the small frustrations and generous in the moments that cost me something. Let my love be real, not performed.
Tonight I release the people I worry about. Hold my marriage, my family, my friends and the ones who feel far away. Surround the lonely with your presence and remind them they are known. Keep me from carrying what is not mine to carry, and let me rest in the knowledge that your love never runs out. Give me sleep tonight, and wake me with a fresh desire to love well. Amen.
A Shorter Version to Pray in a Moment
Lord, I am tired and I know I have not loved everyone as well as I could today. Forgive me, and show me where to start again tomorrow. Thank you for loving me when I fail. Help me love the people in my life with patience and honesty, and let me rest tonight in your care. Amen.
Scriptures to Pray Alongside
1 Corinthians 13:4-5
4 Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, 5 doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil…
(WEB)
Pray this passage slowly, pausing on each quality of love. Ask God to show you where you were patient or unkind today, and to shape those traits in you before tomorrow.
1 John 4:19
We love him, because he first loved us.
(WEB)
Use this verse to remember that your capacity to love begins with being loved first. Thank God for loving you, and let that gratitude fill the space where anxiety about your relationships usually sits.
Psalm 4:8
In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, the LORD alone, make me live in safety.
(WEB)
This verse is a gift for the end of the day. Pray it as a release, handing God the worries about the people you love so you can close your eyes and sleep in peace.
Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from God’s love, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(WEB)
Pray these verses when you feel unlovable or afraid of losing someone. Ask God to make the truth of this promise steady in your heart, especially in the quiet hours.
Lamentations 3:22-23
22 It is because of the LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail. 23 They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
(WEB)
Speak this over your relationships and over yourself. Thank God that his love renews each morning, and ask him to give you fresh compassion when you wake up.
How to Pray This Prayer
Set aside a few minutes just before you turn off the light, when the phone is away and the day has slowed. Sit on the edge of the bed, or kneel beside it, and hold something cool or familiar in your hands, such as a mug, a wedding ring or the edge of a blanket. Let the physical act slow your breathing before you begin speaking.
If you share a home, consider praying the prayer aloud together with your spouse, a roommate or a child who is old enough to join in. Hearing someone else ask God to bless the people in the house can soften tension that built up during the day. You might also write the names of people you are worried about on a card and place it on your nightstand to revisit each evening.
A Blessing to Close
May the Lord who knows every hard word and every tired thought settle you tonight. May his love reach the people you care about, and may your own heart rest in the security of being fully known. Sleep well, and wake to mercies that are new.
