Wake Up! Pray Up!
Thursday’s Verse:
From Psalm 5:3 ESV
"O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch."
God’s gift for each new day is found in darkness, when we unwrap it, and in the light, when we unfold it. Before our attention gets siphoned away by the day, and before our responsibilities get the best of our minds and hearts, God wants us to speak.
Morning prayer is not a task. It is the most natural place to begin our day: in conversation with the Lord. “It is a good thing to let prayer be the first business of the morning and the last at night.” So said Martin Luther, not out of a sense of duty but out of need.
When we pray in the morning, we do not report to God on the weather—he knows the forecast. We lay our day in His hands. We confess our frailty. We thank God for His mercy. We ask the Lord to fill us with His Spirit. We pray He leads us, forms us, and guards us.
In Christ, we have nothing to earn by prayer. We already have all things in Him. Prayer simply keeps us near to the Lord who is with us in every moment. So when you rise, speak to God, not to make an impression on Him, but to take rest in Him. He is eager to hear your voice. Your day begins with no one better than Him.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Lord, thank You for this new morning. Before I do anything else, I turn to You. Fill my heart with Your peace, my thoughts with Your truth, and my steps with Your Spirit. Walk with me today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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