It’s much easier to tell our children to say their prayers than to guide them through the process. Praying out loud is a bold expression of faith. Though many of us feel comfortable praying out loud in a group, it’s hard for others to muster the courage to verbalize prayer even to our own children.
Even when we are brave enough, we often let the opportunity to pray with our kids pass by in the rush of the day’s routine. Carving out time to pray with our children blazes a trail for them to cope with life the way God created us to – in conversation with Him.
Deuteronomy 11:20 tell us to “Teach these things to your children. Talk about them when you’re sitting together in your home and when you’re walking together down the road. Make them the last thing you talk about before you go to bed and the first thing you talk about the next morning.” When it seems daunting to break down faith to our children, let us pray to the Lord for strength to pass down His truth in prayer with the little lives He’s entrusted us with on this earth.
Table of contents
1. A Prayer for When I am Thankful
God, thank You for this day! Thank You for the birds and the animals, the flowers and the trees, the lakes and the streams, and the sun that rises and sets over them each day. Thank You for creating everything we see! Thank You for the life we live, and for making each person different. Thank You for Jesus, who died for us so that we can go to heaven one day just for believing in Him. What an amazing God You are! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
2. A Prayer for When I am Sad
God, I am sad. But You are good, and You are there. You listen to me when I cry. I can cry to You and tell You what is wrong. Even when I don’t know what to say, I can just pray, “Help me, God, I’m so sad.” You promise that whatever I am going through, You will be there. Thank You for always loving me, even when I am really sad. Thank You for this day, even though it’s not been the best day. Show me how to cheer up. Help me to be happy. Help me to see and remember all of the good things You have blessed my life with, and dry my tears. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
3. A Prayer for My Friend
God, Thank You for my friend. You tell us that it is not good to be alone, God, and bless us with family and friends all around us. Thank You for giving us people to talk to and laugh with. I pray for my friend today, that they have a good day and a blessed life. They are a blessing to me, God, when I need them the most. Just like Jesus is to me. Help me to be kind like Jesus. To be a good friend to others and spread His love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
4. A Prayer for Help
God, Sometimes I don’t feel like talking about what’s wrong. I just want to be mad or sad or frustrated. I would rather sit by myself. Sometimes, things feel too big for me to figure out. Sometimes, life seems really unfair. I need Your help, God. You are the only One who sees everything and knows everything. You are the only One who knows everything about me. Can You help me to trust You, today? Please teach me how to take what I feel and give it to You to sort out. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
5. A Prayer for My Sister
God, Thank You for my sister. You tell us that no family is put together by accident. That the people in our lives are placed there by You. Thank You for making us sisters. Bless us to be friends like only sisters can be, all the days of our lives. Help me to be a good example for her, and to be there for her when she needs my support. Thank You for my sister, God. Bless her today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
6. A Prayer for My Brother
God, Thank You for my brother. The people in our lives are placed there by You. You love all of us like sons and daughters, more than we can understand! Thank You for my brother. He is a very special person in my life. Someone who is fun to be around, but also understands me. Our friendship is very special, and I look up to him very much. Please bless him, Lord. Bless my brother, and keep him safe, today and always. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
7. A Prayer for My Grandparents
God, Thank You for my grandparents. I love spending time them. They always make me feel special and are excited to see me. Please bless them to be healthy and strong. Protect them from harm and keep them happy and safe until I see them again. When I miss them, help me to remember all of the fun times we have when we are together. Thank You, God, for my grandparents. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
8. A Prayer for My School
God, please bless my school. Thank You for all of the teachers that work so hard to help us learn. Thank You for recess and lunchtime, when we get to play with our friends. Thank You for providing a place where we can learn more about the world You created for us to live in, and how it works. Please keep my school safe. Protect all of the grown ups and kids that come to school everyday. Protect us from harm, and help us to be kind to each other. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
9. A Prayer for My Mom
God, Thank You for my Mom. She helps me grow into the person You made me to be. Even though I don’t always listen, I love her everyday… all of the time. Just like You love us. She loves me even when I have good days, and when I’m bad. Help me to be obedient, even when she tells me to do something I don’t want to do. Thank You for my mom. Bless her to know how much I love her. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
10. A Prayer for My Dad
God, Thank You for my Dad. He guides me in life by his example and his helping hand. He teaches me how to do things and helps me with my homework. He works hard at his job for our family, and makes me laugh. Thank You so much for my dad. Please bless him, God and let him know how much I love him. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
When it’s time to sleep and you want to help your child learn how to pray at bedtime, use our Kids Bedtime Prayers.
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.
Prayer for Healing
Prayer for StrengthPrayer for ProtectionMorning PrayersGood Night PrayersShort PrayersThe Lord’s PrayerSerenity PrayerA Birthday PrayerSinner’s PrayerPrayer for ForgivenessPrayer for Guidance
Now available is our new Daily Prayer devotional! An easy way to find start your day with prayer, read today’s prayer and sign up to receive by email.
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When you wake up, offer your day to God—and encourage your kids to do the same with morning prayer. Here are nine ways to do it, plus the text of nine prayers typically said for morning prayer.
Here are seven ways to do it (plus some prayers to print out at the end):
1. Morning Offering. Say the traditional Morning Offering prayer (see below). This prayer was written in 1844 by Fr. François-Xavier Gautrelet, S.J., one of the founders of the Apostleship of Prayer, as a way for Christians to make a daily offering of themselves to the Lord.
2. Invocations. Not a morning person? Keep it short by memorizing a handful of one-line invocations to pray in the morning (see some examples in the related article, Invocations).
3. Canticle of Zechariah. The Canticle of Zechariah is one of the traditional morning prayers of the Liturgy of the Hours, possibly because Zechariah’s song (found in Luke 1:68–79) refers to Christ as the dawn. See below for the text.
4. Sing a song. You can sing “This Is the Day the Lord Has Made” or another popular morning hymn. (Watch a video of the song if you’re not familiar with it: here’s a Gospel version, plus a version with lyrics displayed on the screen.) See Sing a Prayer with Your Kids.
5. Pray a psalm. Psalms often prayed during Morning Prayer include Psalm 63:2–9 (“O God, you are my God; for you I long. . . .”), Daniel 3:57–88 (“Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord. . . .”) and Psalm 149 (“Sing a new song to the Lord. . . .”).
6. Pray a short, kid-led litany of saints. Let your kids invoke different saints, with the rest of the family responding, “Pray for us!” to each one; see Raise Your Family Saint Smarts with a Daily Litany of Saints.
7. Write your prayer. If singing morning prayer gets you dirty looks from family members, try writing out your morning prayer and leaving it in a prominent place: on the refrigerator, on a closet door, on the bathroom mirror.
8. Post your prayer. Teens who use social media might make a morning offering their first post of the day.
9. Offer intentions for the day. Before praying, ask for family members to voice their intentions for the day. These may be petitions (requests for a good day, help with a difficult situation, etc.), but they could also be offerings: “What will you offer to God today?” See Keep a List of Family Prayer Intentions.
Morning Prayers for Your Family
Morning Offering
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day
for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world,
for the salvation of souls, the reparation for sins, the reunion of all Christians,
and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month.
Amen.
This Is the Day That the Lord Has Made (Psalm 118:24)
This is the day the Lord has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it!
Psalm 118 is from a thanksgiving liturgy in which the king, priests, and all the people processed into the temple to give thanks for deliverance from enemies.
A Short Morning Offering for Children
Thank you, God, for giving us this day;
help us to be like Jesus in all we think, do, and say.
Amen.
Angel of God
Angel of God, my guardian dear,
to whom God’s love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side,
to light, to guard, to rule, and guide.
Amen.
Canticle of Zechariah (Benedictus)
The Canticle of Zechariah is taken from the song that Zechariah sings after regaining his voice at the birth of his son, John (Luke 1:68-79). It was adopted for Morning Prayer by St. Benedict in the sixth century, possibly because of the reference to the dawn, and it is one of the central prayers of the Divine Office.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to His people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of His servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy Covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.
Amen.
Lorica of St. Patrick (St. Patrick’s Breastplate)
The Lorica of St. Patrick, also called St. Patrick’s Breastplate, is traditionally attributed to St. Patrick, although it may have been composed much later. It has taken many forms over the years; this is one of the shorter versions.
I arise today through
God’s strength to pilot me, God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s eye to see before me,
God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me, God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me, God’s host to secure me ¾
against snares of devils,
against temptations and vices,
against inclinations of nature,
against everyone who shall wish me ill,
whether far or near,
alone and in a crowd . . .
Christ, be with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit,
Christ where I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.
Salvation is of the Lord.
Salvation is of the Lord.
Salvation is of the Christ.
May your salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.
Amen.
Prayer of Saint Francis
How would your family life look different if you put this prayer into practice today?
Although this prayer was written in the spirit of St. Francis, it first appeared in a small French church magazine, The Little Bell, in 1912. It was widely distributed during World War I and World War II.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is error, truth;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Pied Beauty
The author of this poem, Gerard Manley Hopkins, was a Jesuit priest whose unusual poetry was rejected by publishers during his lifetime. He burned all of his poetry upon entering the Society of Jesus as an act of humility, but eventually came to see his poetry as consistent with his vocation. Today, he is hailed as “one of the three or four greatest poets of the Victorian era” by the Poetry Foundation.
Glory be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise Him.
Canticle of the Three Youths (Daniel 3:57-90)
This prayer might be said antiphonally, with a leader speaking the verses and all responding on “praise and exalt him above all forever.” This is the hymn sung by the three youths from within the fiery furnace that King Nebuchadnezzar had them thrown into as a punishment for refusing to worship his idol (Daniel 3). It is omitted from most Protestant Bibles on the grounds that it was written in Greek rather than the Aramaic of the rest of the book.
Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever.
You heavens, bless the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever.
All you waters above the heavens, bless the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever.
All you powers, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Sun and moon, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Stars of heaven, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Every shower and dew, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
All you winds, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Fire and heat, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Cold and chill, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Dew and rain, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Frost and chill, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Hoarfrost and snow, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Nights and days, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Light and darkness, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Let the earth bless the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Mountains and hills, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Everything growing on earth, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
You springs, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Seas and rivers, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
You sea monsters and all water creatures, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
All you birds of the air, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
All you mortals, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
O Israel, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Priests of the Lord, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Servants of the Lord, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Holy and humble of heart, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
For he has delivered us from Sheol,
and saved us from the power of death;
He has freed us from the raging flame
and delivered us from the fire.
Give thanks to the Lord, who is good,
whose mercy endures forever.
Bless the God of gods, all you who fear the Lord;
praise and give thanks,
for his mercy endures forever.
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