O God, our Father, we ask you to bless those for whom there will be no sleep tonight; those who must work throughout the night to maintain the public services, doctors who must walk to usher new life into the world, to close the eyes of those from whom this life is passing away, to ease the sufferer’s pain; nurses and all who watch by the bedside of those who are ill; those who this night will not sleep because of the pain of their body or the distress of their mind; those in misfortune, who will lie down in hunger and in cold; those who are far from home and far from friends, and who are lonely as the shadows fall. Grant that in our own happiness and comfort we may never forget the sorrow and the pain, the loneliness and the need of others in the slow, dark hours. This we ask you for your love’s sake.

Written by William Barclay. [With gratitude to Scott.]