A morning prayer is a wonderful way to focus your time and attention on seeking God’s plan for the day ahead. Whether you need encouragement, peace, strength, or rest, God can meet you in a very real and present way when you come before Him with a humble heart. Seek God’s presence each morning before your energy and attention is pulled by all the tasks you have ahead.
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Here are 10 helpful morning prayers to start your day:
1. “Lord, may nothing separate me from You today. Teach me how to choose only Your way today so each step will lead me closer to You. Help me walk by the Word and not my feelings. Help me to keep my heart pure and undivided. Protect me from my own careless thoughts, words, and actions. And keep me from being distracted by MY wants, MY desires, MY thoughts on how things should be. Help me to embrace what comes my way as an opportunity… rather than a personal inconvenience. And finally, help me to rest in the truth of Psalm 86:13, ‘Great is your love toward me.’ You already see the ways I will fall short and mess up. But right now, I consciously tuck Your whisper of absolute love for me into the deepest part of my heart. I recognize Your love for me is not based on my performance. You love me warts and all. That’s amazing. But what’s most amazing is that the Savior of the world would desire a few minutes with me this morning. Lord, help me to forever remember what a gift it is to sit with You like this. Amen.”
– Lysa Terkeurst
2. 
“I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” – Psalm 16:8
3. “Dear Lord, I don’t know who or what will cross my path today. But I do know that You are my Rock and my Fortress. You are my Shield and my Strong Tower. Help me to anchor myself to You today. Teach me how to stand strong in You and choose only Your way today. Help me walk by Your truth and not my feelings. Help me to embrace anything that comes my way as an opportunity to see You at work and as an opportunity to point others to You. Thank You that You love me and nothing can ever take that away from me! Even if I fail today and fall short, You whisper Your unconditional love deep into my soul and remind me that Your mercies are new every morning. That truly amazes me, Lord. Thank You for meeting with me today. Would You wake me again tomorrow with the same sweet whisper of Your love? I can’t wait to meet with You again. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
– Wendy Blight
4. 
“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3
5. “Lord, grant me tenacious winsome courage as I go through this day. When I am tempted to give up, help me to keep going. Grant me a cheerful spirit when things don’t go my way. And give me courage to do whatever needs to be done. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
– Dr. Ray Pritchard
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7
6. “Father, my heart is heavy. I feel like I have to carry the burden alone. Words like overwhelmed, distraught, exhausted seem to describe where I am. I am not sure how to let you carry my heavy load, so please show me how. Take it from me. Let me rest and be refreshed so that my heart won’t be so heavy in the morning. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
– Ron Moore
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
7. “Dear Lord, help me remember what a difference it makes when I make time with You a priority in my morning. Awaken me in body and spirit each day with a desire to meet with You and to hear You speak words of affirmation, assurance and wisdom over my heart as I prepare to go into my day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
– Traci Miles
“If any of your lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5
8. 
9. The prayer of Jabez: “Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let Your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.'” 1 Chronicles 4:10
10. “I got up early one morning
And rushed right into the day;I had so much to accomplishThat I didn’t have time to pray.Problems just tumbled about me,And heavier came each task;’Why doesn’t God help me?’ I wondered.He answered, ‘You didn’t ask.’I wanted to see joy and beautyBut the day toiled on gray and bleakI wondered why God didn’t show meHe said, ‘But you didn’t seek’,I tried to come into God’s presence;I used all my keys in the lock.God gently and lovingly chided,’My child, you didn’t knock.’I woke up early this morning,And paused before entering the day;I had so much to accomplishThat I had to take time to pray.” -Author Unknown, The Difference
Please let us know how these morning prayers have helped you in the comments below! Join our large praying community and experience the peace and joy that God freely gives each day.
For more daily encouragement, read our 30 Inspirational Quotes that will help you shine your light today!
This article is part of our larger Prayers resource meant to inspire and encourage your prayer life when you face uncertain times. Visit our most popular prayers if you are wondering how to pray or what to pray. Remember, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and God knows your heart even if you can’t find the words to pray.
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Inside: Prayer is an important part of your quiet time with God and spiritual growth. Here are 3 reasons why early morning prayer is a good idea plus a little trick to help you consistently get up earlier each day!
I was really going to do it this year. I was going to get up early so I could have my quiet time with God before the day started.
Yes, I made that same commitment every year before that, and yes I always fell short every single year. But this year would be different. I had a plan. And I knew I could stick with it.
- Go to bed early so I’m not dog tired when my alarm goes off in the morning
- Have all my supplies ready to go right next to the bed
- Exercise during the day so I’m good and tired when it’s bedtime so I’m not up all night thinking about all the things
It was a good plan. I followed it perfectly. And guess what?
I woke up the first morning and promptly went back to sleep. The second morning I woke up and made it through my quiet time. The third day it just didn’t happen.
Consistency gets me every time!
I bet if you’ve ever decided to get up early or spend more time in the word you’ve had the same struggle. Big changes like that are hard to do even when you have the perfect plan and the best motivation.
But hope is not lost!
I found a little trick that helped me be more consistent. Not perfect. But I am doing better at getting up and starting my day with prayer and Bible study. I still have to do all the other things on my list but this one thing this what helps me see the most success.
Ready for it?
I get out of bed when my alarm goes off.
Yep, that’s it. I kick the covers off and stand up. Once that happens I grab my prayer notebook and Bible. It’s a simple step but it packs a big punch.
Related: How to Set Goals that You Can Actually Stick to
Sometimes we get overwhelmed by big goals and too many steps. One way to get over that feeling of overwhelm is to find something that will give you quick win. Something that you can do in 30 seconds that will get you one step closer to your goal.
Why 30 seconds? Because it’s enough time to make progress but not enough time to talk yourself out of moving forward. And it’s something that’s easy to check off your to-do list. Which then motivates you to keep going so you can check something else off.
For example, if you want to floss every day. A 30-second task that you can commit to is flossing one tooth each morning. Why? Because if you floss one tooth you’re not going to stop there. You are more likely to finish the rest of your mouth.
So the challenge is to figure out what is that one thing that you can do every day to achieve your spiritual goals.
My goal is to start my day with prayer.
I know there can be some controversy about if you have to do quiet time at a certain time each day in order to be in God’s will. I don’t want to get into that but if you give me a minute I want to make a case for starting your day with prayer.
3 Reasons Early Morning Prayer is Best
1. Jesus did it
Our main goal as Christians is to be more like Christ. So it’s important to take our cue from Jesus when it comes to our quiet times.
Mark 1:35 NLT – Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.
Jesus rose early in the morning to have time to talk with this Father. I don’t believe that God is calling all of use to rise before daybreak to pray but I do believe that He wants to hear from us first thing in the morning.
2. It’s the perfect time to get instructions for the day
One thing that I pray for daily is that God will lead and guide our day. I’m not prideful enough to think that just because I have a plan in place that things will go smoothly. Remember my plan for getting up early?
Psalm 5:3 NLT – Listen to my voice in the morning LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
God already knows what we will face that day before we even open up our eyes. Why not take a few minutes to ask Him what that plan is? Do you have a BIG day at work … God has a plan for that. Spending the day taking care of your little ones? God has a plan for that as well.
God’s plans are perfect. And if we simply take the time to ask Him about it, He’s willing to share with us the right path to take.
Related: How to pray during hard times
3. Sometimes we need a little encouragement to put one step in the front of the other
If I’m 100% honest many times the reason that I struggle to get out of bed in the morning had nothing to do with how tired I was. Or my laziness or lack of consistency. Most of the time I just didn’t want to get up and face the day.
Psalm 119:147 NLT – I rise early, before the sun is up; I cry out for help and put my hope in your words.
Starting the day with prayer …
Talking to God about what’s on my mind and heart helped me put one foot in front of the other. Because when things are as bad as it can get the only thing that we can do it cry out to God for help and for mercy.
I always feel better when I spend time talking to God. He promises comfort when we need it and He never fails to deliver.
Make the commitment to start your day by talking to God. Make it even sweeter by spending a minute or two in the Word. And don’t forget to find that one thing that you can do in 30 seconds to make sure you keep that commitment.
Your Turn: Do you pray first thing in the morning? Does some other time work better for you?
latoyaedwards.net
There is hardly a better time to pray than in the morning. Starting the day off with morning prayer was always important to the early Christians and their prayers often invoked the presence of the Trinity – Father, Son and Spirit – to be with them through their often hard toil on the land. When you wake up, your mind and heart can feel really heavy, especially when you’re focusing on all the things you have to tackle and all the stress that comes with those tasks. A powerful morning prayer can center you and bring your focus to the place where it needs to be. Here are eight powerful morning prayers that you can use daily.
A Prayer for the Morning
Morning prayers can refresh and recharge your soul as you get ready to take on the day with help from the best place possible: Our Creator. We should treat morning prayers like prayer itself, as a time to get closer to God by expressing our love for Him, thanking Him for His blessings and offering Him everything good and bad in our day in doing His will. Begin your day with this prayer for the morning:
Dear Lord, You have brought me to the beginning of a new day. As the world is renewed fresh and clean, so I ask You to renew my heart with Your strength and purpose. Forgive me the errors of yesterday and bless me to walk closer in Your way today. This is the day I begin my life anew; shine through me so that every person I meet may feel Your presence in me. Take my hand, precious Lord for I cannot make it by myself. Amen.
A Prayer for Strength
God loves when you pray for strength. And He promises to answer you: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am Your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). Pray with confidence. Pray for the strength that God supplies and keep your eyes open for His answers. They may not look like your expectations. But you can be assured that He is working to strengthen your understanding, faith and hope in Him. Begin your day with this prayer for strength:
Dear Lord, this morning, I pray that You give me strength today, to be strong for You in this world full of temptations. You know that there are struggles that I will go through today. I pray that You be with me as I go through them. Carry me when I am too weak. Amen.
A Prayer for Guidance
One of the Bible’s greatest truths is that God wants to guide us. He loves us and because He loves us, He wants what is best for us and is willing to show it to us. As your day progresses, it can be difficult to identify these blessings. Begin your day with this morning prayer for guidance:
Dear Lord, I don’t know who or what will cross my path today. But I do know that You are my rock and my fortress. You are my shield and my strong tower. Help me to anchor myself to You today. Teach me how to stand strong in You and choose only Your way today. Help me walk by Your truth and not my feelings. Help me to embrace anything that comes my way as an opportunity to see You at work and as opportunity to point others to You. Amen.
A Prayer for Gratitude
We should be thankful because God is worthy of our thanksgiving. It is only right to credit Him for “every good and perfect gift” He gives (James 1:17). When we are thankful, our focus moves off selfish desires and off the pain of current circumstances. It also helps us to remember that God is ultimately in control. Beginning each morning with gratitude will provide you with a great foundation. Prayer is one of the intentional ways you can cultivate a grateful heart for yourself. Start your day off with this prayer for gratitude:
Dear God, I thank you for waking me up today. You have given me another sunrise to enjoy. Thank you for the wonderful sounds of nature and the cool breeze brushing through the trees making the birds sing beautiful melodies. I praise You, Father, for allowing me to live another beautiful day in Your Kingdom. Amen.
A Prayer for Family
Begin each day with a powerful morning prayer session with your family. Reciting these words and identifying our schedules early on, will provide a great deal of perspective for you and your family. Entrust each individual to God. Wherever they are in their relationship with God, pray that He draws them even closer. Think of morning prayer as exercise for each member’s spirit and soul. Working out these elements will help everyone plan for what is to come and better equip them with the tools to take on the new day. Start your day off with this prayer for family:
Dear God, thank you for the gift of family and friends. Holding them in my heart is one of the most precious things I can never get tired of. Bless everyone, for they deserve all goodness You have given to me. If I may do something wrong today, please forgive me. Amen.
A Prayer for My Career
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