Luther's Morning Prayer — from the Small Catechism

I thank Thee, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Thy dear Son, that Thou hast kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray Thee to keep me this day also from sin and all evil, that all my doings and life may please Thee.

For into Thy hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Thy holy angel be with me, that the wicked foe may have no power over me.

Amen.

About This Prayer

Martin Luther wrote this prayer for his Small Catechism of 1529 — a little handbook of faith meant not for scholars but for ordinary households. His instructions were wonderfully practical: say it first thing in the morning, and "then go joyfully to your work." Five centuries later it is still prayed daily far beyond Lutheran homes, because it does exactly what a morning needs: it says thank you for the night's protection, asks for a day lived well, and places body, soul, and everything else into God's hands before breakfast. (This is the classic public-domain English translation; you may know it with slightly different wording.)

In Plain Words

In your own words, this prayer says: Father, thank You for getting me safely through the night. Keep me from doing wrong today, and let my whole day please You. I put myself — body, soul, all of it — in Your hands, and I trust You to guard me from evil.

A Verse to Hold On To

"It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning." — Lamentations 3:22–23 (KJV)