The Rest of the Story...

I found it interesting as I was browsing through some things about the "little prayer" we are all so familiar with. It goes like this:

"Now I lay me down to sleep;
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord, my soul to take."

The author of this prayer is Eugene Henry Pullen. It is a prayer we learned as children and many still teach their children. Here is the interesting part. There is a second part of the prayer that I never heard and I don't know if you have heard it. It goes like this:

"Now I wake and see the light;
'Tis God who kept me through the night.
To Him I life my voice and pray,
That He will keep me through the day.
In Jesus' name, Amen."

I realize the Lord does not want repetion in prayer, that we pray from the heart. What struck me was why do we know so well the first part and have never second? Do you think it might reflect our real attitude toward God? Here's my thought...during my sleep and hours of the night, I have no control over my life and I have to trust God to care for me. But when I am awake each day, I feel in control and can handle things just fine without you. Thanks anyway.
Maybe we need to consider the prayer of David in Psalms 3, when he was surrounded by enemies and his life was at stake. "But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and teh One who lifts my head. I was crying to the Lord with my voice, and He answered me from His holy mountain. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves agains me round about." Do we really trust our heavenly Father or do we just repeat words because they are the right words to repeat?