Prayer of the Day

Father, I bring You my family — every person under my roof and every name carried in my heart, near and far, easy to love and hard to love. You know each one better than I do.

Protect them, Lord. Watch over them on the roads they drive, in the schools and workplaces where they spend their days, and in the quiet battles no one else sees. Where I cannot be, You are. I rest on that.

Provide for them. Give us what we need for this season — our daily bread, honest work, health enough, and wisdom for the decisions in front of us. Teach us to trust You for tomorrow instead of carrying it today.

Draw us close to one another. Soften the sharp words before they are spoken. Where there is distance, build a bridge. Where there is an old wound, begin the healing. Help us to forgive quickly, laugh often, and never let the sun go down on our anger.

And draw us close to You. More than success, more than comfort, more than safety, I ask that every person in this family would come to know You and walk with You — the young ones and the old ones, the ones who believe and the ones who wander. Be patient with us all.

Make our home a shelter, Lord: a place where truth is spoken and grace is given, where the door is open and the table is full. As for me and my house, we choose to serve You.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Thank You, Father, for this day now ending.

For food on the table and a place to sleep. For work done and rest coming. For the people who love me, and the mercy that met me every hour, seen and unseen.

I didn't earn a minute of it. Receive my thanks — it's all I have to give back tonight, and You've never asked for more.

In Jesus' name, Amen.