Our Father in Heaven… tomorrow, when I rise from sleep, another work week finished:

Let my first thought today be of You, let my first impulse be to worship You, let my first speech be Your name, let my first action be to kneel before You in prayer.

For Your perfect wisdom and perfect goodness,

For the love that You love mankind with,

For the love that You love me with,

For the great and mysterious opportunity of my life,

For the indwelling of Your Spirit in my heart,

For the gifts of Your Spirit,

For all these, I praise and worship You, Lord.

Yet let me not, when this morning prayer is said, think my worship has ended and then spend the rest of my day forgetting You. Rather from this moment of quietness let light go forth, and joy, and power, that will remain with me through all the hours of the day ahead;

Keeping me pure in thought,

Keeping me restrained and truthful in speech,

Keeping me faithful and diligent in my work,

Keeping me humble in my estimation of myself,

Keeping me honorable and generous in my dealings with others,

Keeping me loyal to every holy memory of the past,

Keeping me mindful of my eternal destiny as Your child.

God, who has been the Refuge of my fathers through many generations, be my Refuge today in every time and circumstance of need. Be my Guide through all that is dark and doubtful. Be my Guard against all that threatens my [spiritual, relational, emotional, psychological, and physical] welfare. Be my Strength in time of testing. Gladden my heart with Your peace; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

Adapted from A Diary of Private Prayer, by John Baillie