6 Prayers to Incorporate into Your Morning Prayer Routine

woman praying

Need an extra boost of inspiration and prayer at the beginning of the day? Begin your day with morning prayer!

There is something special about the quiet and newness you meet in the dawn of each day as you begin morning prayer. Without a doubt, God meets you in that quiet place. He longs to spend those few precious moments before you move on to tackle the rest of your day.

Morning prayer is a special time to connect with God before your mind becomes swamped with all the to-do lists of the day. After all, it can soothe and calm you before a busy day and remind you why you are setting forth on the journey of another 24 hours in the first place.

Not every prayer is the same, however. People may prefer different types of prayers at different times. As you continue to build a stronger foundation of faith, you’ll want to add new and deeper prayers to your morning prayer routine.

The importance of morning prayer

praying woman

It’s tempting to let your mind run wild as soon as you wake up in the morning. But it’s important seek peace and calm at the beginning of the day. Make some time in your morning routine to enter into morning prayer. It’ll help set the perfect pace for the rest of the day!

There’s no substitute for beginning each day with prayer — not even coffee! Starting your day off with conversation with the Lord can set the tone to a truly good day.

Read more: How to Fit Prayer into a New Relationship

Maybe you’re setting out on a busy and overwhelming day. Perhaps the day ahead is a relatively calm one. Regardless of your schedule, center yourself in God’s love and grace before you go.

Here are six prayers that will be a great addition to your morning prayer routine and help you deepen your relationship with God daily!

1. Morning offering

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The morning offering may have many variations, but its purpose remains the same. Use this prayer to offer everything to God. Before you even get out of bed, offer him everything that you may encounter during the day.

By consecrating yourself to Jesus at the start of each new day, you offer every sacrifice and every joy to God for the good of yourself and others. Everything that you do from this prayer forward is united with His most Sacred Heart, for the good of the whole world!

“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,
in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all my relatives and friends,
and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.”

2. Saint Therese’s Morning Offering

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No one knew how to give herself to Jesus in the little ways like Therese of Lisieux. She may have spent most of her years inside the walls of a convent, but her words and heart of service for the Lord reached far and wide.

Therese taught us that we don’t need to move mountains to achieve great things through faith. Instead, we can put intentional effort into every little thought, word and deed, and do it all for God.

With Therese’s morning offering, we ask for the grace and ability to fulfill the will of God through our daily vocation. This morning prayer reminds us that we have a tremendous impact on the world just by living our our daily lives, if done so with a bold and consecrated purpose.

“O my God! I offer thee all my actions of this day for the intentions and for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I desire to sanctify every beat of my heart, my every thought, my simplest works, by uniting them to its infinite merits; and I wish to make reparation for my sins by casting them into the furnace of its merciful love. O my God! I ask of thee for myself and for those whom I hold dear, the grace to fulfill perfectly thy holy will, to accept for love of thee the joys and sorrows of this passing life, so that we may one day be united together in heaven for all eternity.”

3. A quick morning prayer to God

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Sometimes the beauty of a morning prayer lies in its simplicity! This prayer can easily be adapted to your morning prayer routine and repeated once you are on the go, coffee in hand.

Read more: 4 Lessons a French Priest Taught Me About Prayer

“In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I will begin this day. I thank you, Lord, for having preserved me during the night. I will do my best to make all I do today pleasing to you and in accordance with your will. My dear mother Mary, watch over me this day. My guardian angel, take care of me. Saint Joseph and all you saints of God, pray for me.”

4. Prayers of resolution

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Prayers of resolution invites you to follow directly in Jesus’ footsteps throughout each day.  It encourages you to strive to live as a good Christian each day. With this prayer, you ask the Lord to make you ready to share eternal life with him.

Though challenging, these prayers encourage you to see the face of Jesus in everyone, not just those who are easy to love. Maybe you struggle with a bossy roommate, a difficult co-worker, or a family member who is always hard to interact with. They all deserve to be treated with love and compassion.

“Adorable Jesus, my Savior and Master, model of all perfection, I resolve—and will try this day—to imitate your example, to be like you, mild, humble, chaste, zealous, charitable, and resigned. I will redouble my efforts to see your image in all those I meet and deal with this day, and to be as helpful to them as I would be to you. I resolve to avoid this day all those sins which I have committed heretofore and which I now sincerely desire to give up forever. Amen.”

5. Prayers for God’s blessings on the day

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This morning prayer by Saint Edmund asks for God’s spiritual help and protection. It encompasses a wealth of requests to keep us from harm as we travel and right and good path into God’s grace.

“O Lord, into your hands and into the hands of your holy angels, this day I entrust my soul, my relatives, my benefactors, my friends and enemies, and all your Catholic people. O Lord, by the merits and prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of all your saints, keep us today from all evil and unruly desires, from all sins and temptations of the devil, from a sudden and unprovided death, and from the pains of hell. Enlighten my heart with the grace of your Holy Spirit. Grant that I may ever be obedient to your commandments. Let me never be separated from you, O God, who live and reign with God the Father and the same Holy Spirit forever. Amen”

The next two shorter prayers focus specifically on discernment. As a Catholic single, these prayers give you a chance to ask Christ to guide your thoughts and actions throughout the day.

“Lord God Almighty, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day. Defend us in it by your mighty power, that this day we may not fall into sin, but that all our words may be spoken and all our thoughts and actions directed in such a manner as always to be pleasing in your sight. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

“Lord, we beg of you, go before us with your gracious inspiration in all our doings, and help us with your continual assistance, that our every prayer and work may begin from you and be duly ended by you. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

The grace received through these prayers allows us to experience God’s peace in a bigger more profound way.

6. Liturgy of the Hours

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“Seven times a day I praise you,” the Psalmist prayed. The Liturgy of the Hours give us the opportunity to pray without ceasing as Jesus invited us to do.

There are several parts to the Liturgy of the Hours:

The purpose of the Liturgy of the Hours is to sanctify the day and all human activity. Not only is this a prayer of the clergy, but a prayer for the people of God.

It may not be feasible for you to recite every part of the Liturgy of the Hours daily. Begin by taking on the Morning Prayer or the Office Readings as part of your own morning prayer. These prayers will drastically deepen your prayer time with God!

Every prayer is a communication with God, and every communication with him is a gift. All of these morning prayers offer you the unique ability to strengthen and deepen your relationship with Christ before even leaving your home for the day.

Using new and different prayers can help your prayer life grow and strengthen. Don’t be afraid to step out of your routine an add new prayers, and change them according to your life circumstances. Each morning is a gift and each prayer is a blessing!