Prayer of the Day

Father, before I ask You for anything, let me thank You.

Thank You for sleep, and for waking from it. Thank You for light at the window, for water, for bread, for coffee going warm in my hands. Small things — but this morning I see them.

Thank You for the people I get to love, even the ones who make it hard. Thank You for work to do and a reason to do it. Thank You for the troubles You've carried me through that I've already forgotten.

Forgive me for how quickly I move past all this, how I treat Your daily gifts like they were owed to me. Give me eyes today that keep noticing.

Let gratitude walk with me out the door — into traffic, into work, into every conversation — so that the people I meet today meet a person who knows they are blessed.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Father, here is my child, almost asleep. Of everything You've trusted me with, this is the one that makes me pray the hardest.

Watch over this child tonight. Keep their sleep sweet and their dreams kind. Let them wake up rested, ready to laugh.

Thank You for who You made them to be — for the questions they ask, the way they see things, the particular joy they carry into a room. I forget to be amazed. Tonight I remember.

Grow them up strong and gentle, Lord. Give them courage for a world I can't follow them into, and a faith that's truly their own, not borrowed from mine.

Forgive me for the ways I fell short as a parent today. Cover my gaps with Your grace — You have always been the better Father.

Hold them tonight, and hold them always, long after my arms can't reach.

In Jesus' name, Amen.