DO 1774 6/1/84

1. LET'S CUT IT REAL SHORT THIS TIME & JUST SAY THE LORD'S PRAYER—OR MAYBE EVEN BETTER‚ LET'S JUST SAY "NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP"! We're going to offend & shock some people by that. Some people wrote in complaining that we ever even use such a prayer: "Don't you know what you're saying? If the Lord should take your soul, aren't you sure you're going to the right place?"

2. I USE THIS PRAYER MOSTLY FOR THE SAKE OF THE CHILDREN‚ because when I was little it impressed me & sobered me up & really made me think seriously about: "Well, I could go tonight & I sure want to be on good terms with the Lord!" PTL? So why not?

3. "IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE"—HOW DO YOU KNOW I MIGHT NOT?—Some people have. My Mother died in her sleep‚ my Grandfather died in his sleep, lots of old folks die in their sleep. I don't know about young folks but it's possible! "All things are possible!" (Mat.19:26) Praise the Lord?

4. "I PRAY THEE‚ LORD, MY SOUL TO TAKE"—DON'T YOU WANT HIM TO TAKE YOU? They said‚ "Don't you know you're saved? Of course He's going to take your soul so why do you have to pray that?" Well, what's the matter with committing your spirit to the Lord as we go to bed? We know He's going to take our souls, of course‚ but we're just reminding Him. There are a lot of Scriptures in the Bible that you're supposed to remind the Lord of.

5. ACTUALLY, "SOUL" IS A POOR TERM TO USE BECAUSE IT'S USED FOR DIFFERENT THINGS. In this case it means your spirit. I certainly want Him to take my spirit when I die & I expect Him to, don't you? So what's wrong with praying that? I don't know! You sure wouldn't want the Devil to get it, that's for sure! I expect the Lord to take it, so why can't I pray that? Amen, let's pray our little "Lay Me Down" prayer. (They pray it together.) Amen!