Morning Prayer for Protection

Father, I start this day in Your care. Guard me, my family, and my plans. Watch over my going out and my coming in, and keep my heart steady wherever I go. Thank You for Your mercies, which are new this morning. Amen.

Lord, I come to You before the day begins, and I bring it to You as it is. I do not know what the hours will hold. Some of it I can plan, and much of it I cannot. So I ask You to be my refuge and my fortress, the place I run to when the day gets loud or heavy. Be with me at my work and in each conversation I have. Give me patience when I am tired, truth when I am tempted to hide, and kindness toward the people who cross my path. Guard my hands and my tongue. Keep my thoughts from running ahead of me into things I cannot yet face. Where I make mistakes, let me own them and learn from them. Where I need wisdom, give it plainly, one decision at a time. I do not ask for an easy day. I ask that You walk through it with me, and that when I come home tonight, I can see that You kept what I gave You this morning. Thank You that Your compassions are new every morning. I trust You with the hours ahead. Amen.

Lord, I am about to head out on the road. Watch over the way I travel. Keep my attention on where I am going and my hands steady on the wheel. Protect the people I share the road with, the drivers I cannot see and the walkers near the curb. Guard my going out this morning, and keep my coming in just as safe when the day is done. If I feel rushed or angry, quiet my mind and slow my pace. Let me arrive with a clear head and a calm heart. Amen.

Father, I lift up my family to You, and I name each one of them before You now. Keep each of them today. Guard the one who is heading to school, the one going out to work, and the one who stays home. Watch over their going out and their coming in, and keep their hearts close to You. Where someone is anxious, give them peace. Where someone is hurting, be near them, and put people around them who will encourage them. Bring us back together at the end of the day, whole in body and steady in spirit. Amen.

Lord, guard my heart and my mind today. You know how quickly worry can crowd out everything else, and how easily a hard word can settle in and stay. Let me hear Your lovingkindness before I hear the noise of the day. Teach me the way I should walk, and keep my thoughts on what is true and good. When fear rises, remind me that You are near. When discouragement comes, lift my eyes back to You. If the weight of this season is too heavy for me to carry alone, show me the people who can help, whether a pastor, a counselor, or a doctor, and give me the courage to ask. Amen.

Lord, guard my going out and my coming in today, and keep my family and me in Your care. Amen.

Father, there is much about today I cannot control. I cannot see around every corner, and I cannot make other people act as I hope they will. So I give You the parts of the day that are beyond my hands. You are faithful. Help me rest in that faithfulness when the news is hard or the plans fall apart. Teach me to act wisely where I can and to leave the rest with You. When I feel the need to control everything, loosen my grip and let me breathe. I trust You with what I cannot change. Amen.