Morning prayer for today
A prayer for any ordinary morning: thanks for the night, room for God in your plans, and help for the hours ahead.
For this ordinary morning
Good morning, Father. Thank You for the rest of the night and for this new day, which I did not earn and could not make. Before I check a single message, I give You the hours ahead: the plans I have made and the surprises I cannot see yet. Meet me in the ordinary parts of today. Give me patience with the people I will see, honesty in what I say, and at least one moment to notice You before the day is done. Your kindness came back with the sunrise. Help me live like I believe it. Amen.
“Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Morning prayer for strength
For the mornings you wake up tired before the day has even started. The verse below is a prayer from Isaiah, asking God to be His people's strength each morning.
When I wake up tired
Lord, I am tired already, and the day has barely begun. I do not have much to bring You this morning, so I bring You what I have: a weary body, a short fuse and a long list. Be my arm this morning. Carry what I cannot lift and steady what I cannot hold. When my energy runs out by noon, let me find that Yours has not. I will lean on You one hour at a time. Amen.
“O LORD, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.”
Morning prayer for guidance
For a morning with a decision in it, or a day you cannot see the shape of yet. For bigger choices, see these prayers for guidance.
Show me the next step
Father, I do not know everything this day holds, but You do. I bring You the decision I keep turning over and the conversation I am not sure how to start. Slow me down before I rush ahead on my own. Show me the next right step, even if I cannot see the one after it. If I take a wrong turn today, call me back quickly. I want to go where You lead. Amen.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Morning prayer for family
Pray it while everyone is getting ready, or over the people you love before they wake. Pause at each name.
Before the house gets busy
Lord, before this house gets busy, I bring each person in it to You. You know where each of us is going today and what we are carrying: school, work, appointments, worries we have not said out loud. Go with them where I cannot. Keep them safe on the road and kind in what they say. Where there is tension between us, soften it before tonight. Thank You for these people. Bring us home again this evening, glad to see each other. Amen.
“The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.”
Morning prayer of thanks
Gratitude makes a good first word. Before you ask for anything, try naming three specific gifts.
For breath, bread and people
Thank You, God, for waking me up. Thank You for breath in my lungs, for this bed and this roof, for coffee and the light coming in. Thank You for the people who love me and the ones I get to love. Thank You that yesterday is forgiven. I did not make this day; You did, and You made it on purpose. Help me be glad in it, even in the ordinary parts. Amen.
“This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Morning prayer before work
For the commute, the walk in, or the minute before you open your laptop. There are more in our prayers for work.
Before I start work
Lord, I give You the work in front of me today: the tasks I enjoy, the ones I have been putting off, and the people I will work beside. Help me work honestly and well, as if I were working for You, because I am. Give me focus when I drift, patience when the meeting runs long, and a kind word for someone who needs one. Let something I do today be useful to someone else. Amen.
“And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.”
Morning prayer for a hard day
For the morning you wake up and remember: the appointment, the grief, the conflict you cannot avoid. If the hard days keep coming, these prayers for strength may help too.
When I wake up dreading the day
God, I woke up and remembered, and the weight came right back. You already know what today holds, and You know how much I wish I could skip it. I cannot carry this by myself, so I am handing it to You before I even get up. Go ahead of me into the hard conversation, the waiting room, the empty chair. Give me enough strength for this morning, and then enough for the afternoon. Hold me up when I cannot hold on. Amen.
“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”
Psalm 5:3: the Bible's morning prayer
Psalm 5 is a prayer of David, and its third verse is the clearest morning prayer in the Bible:
“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”
The verse moves in three steps.
God hears. David starts with confidence, not technique. He is sure God listens, so he speaks to Him before anything else.
David sets out his prayer. The word the KJV translates “direct” is a Hebrew verb that means to arrange or set in order. It is the same verb used when Abraham “laid the wood in order” (Genesis 22:9, KJV) on the altar. A morning prayer can be laid out like that: thanks first, then the day's needs, then the people you love, set before God one at a time.
David watches. Behind the KJV's “look up” is a Hebrew verb for keeping watch, the word the Old Testament often uses for a watchman. Habakkuk uses it when he says he “will watch to see what he will say unto me” (Habakkuk 2:1, KJV). David does not pray and forget. He prays, then spends the day looking out for God's answer.
That is a good shape for your own mornings: speak to God early, set your day before Him, and watch for Him in it.
More morning prayers in the Bible
| Reference | Book | Theme |
|---|---|---|
| Psalm 59:16 | Psalms | Singing of God's mercy in the morning, written when Saul's men watched David's house |
| Psalm 90:14 | Psalms | Asking God to satisfy us early with His mercy, so we can be glad all our days |
| Psalm 143:8 | Psalms | Asking to hear God's love in the morning and to be shown the way to walk |
| Isaiah 50:4 | Isaiah | God wakes the ear morning by morning to listen and learn |
| Lamentations 3:22-23 | Lamentations | God's mercies come back fresh every morning |
| Mark 1:35 | Mark | Jesus gets up long before dawn to pray alone |
Making morning prayer a habit
Attach it to something you already do. Pray while the kettle boils, or before you unlock your phone. A new habit tied to an old one is easier to keep.
Keep it short enough to keep. One honest minute every morning will shape you more than a long prayer once a month.
Start with one verse. A verse gives your prayer somewhere to begin, and a Bible verse of the day works well for this. In Faithero, the morning reminder brings the day's verse at the time you choose.
Go deeper when you can. If you would like a simple shape for your mornings, with Scripture, reflection and prayer in about ten minutes, see how to keep a daily devotional.
Close the day with God too. Morning prayer has a twin at night: these evening prayers end the day the way this page begins it.
Frequently asked
What is a good short morning prayer?
Try this one: “Lord, this day is Yours before it is mine. Walk through it with me.” A short morning prayer only needs to do two things: give the day to God and ask for His help in it. If you have another minute, add a line for the people you will see today and one for anything you are dreading.
What should I pray for in the morning?
A simple order works well. Thank God for the night and the new day. Give Him your plans. Ask for what today needs: strength, wisdom, patience or courage. Then pray for the people you will see. Psalm 5:3 adds one more step: after you pray, watch for God's answer as the day goes on.
Is there a morning prayer in the Bible?
Yes. The best known is Psalm 5:3: “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up” (Psalm 5:3, KJV). Psalm 143:8 is another: “Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust” (Psalm 143:8, KJV). Psalm 59:16 and Psalm 90:14 are morning prayers too.
Did Jesus pray in the morning?
Yes. After an evening of healing the sick who crowded around the door, Jesus got up early: “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35, KJV). If Jesus made time with the Father before a busy day, we need it too.
What if I am not a morning person?
God is not grading how awake you are, and a sleepy one-line prayer still counts. Pray before you get up, in the shower or on the way to work. If your mind is clearer later, pray then as well. David prayed at every part of the day: “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:17, KJV).
What is Morning Prayer in the Catholic and Anglican churches?
It is a set service of daily prayer. In the Catholic Liturgy of the Hours, Morning Prayer (Lauds) and Evening Prayer (Vespers) are the two main hours of each day. The Church of England prays Morning Prayer from Common Worship and, in its traditional form, from the Book of Common Prayer. The short prayers on this page are personal prayers, and they fit well alongside either.
A short morning prayer in one line
If you only have a moment, pray this before your feet touch the floor:
“Lord, this day is Yours before it is mine. Walk through it with me.”
It hands the day back to God and asks for His company rather than a perfect day. Two more to keep close: “Good morning, Father. Here I am.” And when you need direction: “Speak, Lord. I am listening,” which borrows young Samuel's answer when God called him in the night (1 Samuel 3:10).