"Gud, som haver barnen kär..." (Swedish for 'God, who holds the children dear') is an old prayer for children, of unknown origin.
höghet kronprinsen i underdånighet tilägnad af Samfundet Pro fide et Christianismo ('Children's book, humbly dedicated to his Royal Highness the Crown Prince by the Pro fide et Christianismo Society'), which was published on the occasion of the Swedish crown prince's (later Gustav IV Adolf) second birthday.
In the book the prayer is called "En allmän bön för små barn" ('A general prayer for little children') and reads as follows: Gud som haver barnen kär Se till mig som liten är Vart jag mig i världen vänder Står min lycka i Guds händer Lyckan kommer lyckan går Du förbliver fader vår Den Gud älskar lyckan får Amen.
It was later published in the Swedish Sunday School hymnal (1908) where three additional verses were composted by Johan Bernhard Gauffin [sv] and Carl Boberg and eventually in the regular hymnal Nya psalmer 1921, the annex to the 1819 Swedish hymnal where Siri Dahlquist [sv] extended the prayer by five additional verses, of which the first one begins "Gode Fader, i din vård" ('Good father, in thy care').
The first printed version of the prayer was sung to the melody "Härlig är Guds himmel blå".