Now I lay me down to sleep

A few weeks ago Eric Dirksen from Christ Church of Davis in Davis, California, spoke at Trinity CRC. His text was Acts 7, the stoning of Stephen. How Stephen met his death inspires me in how I live.

As Stephen is dying, he is overheard praying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Eric pointed out a couple things about this prayer. First, this is the same thing Jesus prays just before He died on the cross: “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.” Stephen is so Christlike he imitates Jesus to the very end.

The second thing Eric pointed out is that Jesus did not make up this prayer. It comes from Psalm 31, where the psalmist originally prayed:

Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
(verse 5, NRSV)

It turns out that this was (and perhaps remains?) an ancient bedtime prayer for Jewish children. I picture little children rubbing their eyes as they crawl under the blankets and reciting these words. It’s similar to a bedtime prayer Eric learned when he was a child – as did I:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
(attributed to Joseph Addison, 1711)

I cannot help but notice how the author of Acts records Stephen’s death soon after he recites Psalm 31 as his prayer: “When he had said this, he fell asleep.” The idea of sleeping is sometimes used in the Bible to describe death. How appropriate to use this expression for the man who just uttered his bedtime prayer one last time! The prayer he may have regularly prayed before falling asleep each night is the same prayer on his lips before his final sleep and moments before he opens his eyes in new life in Jesus’ presence!

This inspires me in a couple ways. First, I want to be so saturated in the Bible that my dying words echo truth and comfort from that Word. Second, I don’t think I have to wait until my dying breath to commit my spirit (or my mind or my life) to Jesus. As Eric pointed out, I can practice praying this prayer every day. Jesus invites me to entrust every aspect of my life to His direction and care. I believe it’s the best way to spend every waking moment until the last time I fall asleep.
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