A Morning Prayer of Gratitude

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.

When to Pray This

Pray this at the breakfast table, or anytime the morning feels flat and you need help seeing it fresh. It's especially good on ordinary days — gratitude on the easy days builds the habit for the hard ones.

A Verse to Hold On To

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights." — James 1:17 (KJV)