Luther’s Morning Prayer: A Powerful Way to Start Your Day and Grow in Faith

Have you ever wondered how to start your day off on the right foot and grow in your faith? If so, you might want to try Luther’s morning prayer. Luther’s Morning Prayer is a simple but powerful prayer that was written by Martin Luther, the famous reformer and theologian, in the 16th century.

Luther’s morning prayer is based on the biblical command to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. It is a prayer that expresses gratitude, praise, confession, petition, and dedication to God. In this blog post, I will introduce you to Luther’s morning prayer and explain how it can be a powerful way to start your day and grow in faith.

What is Luther’s morning prayer?

Luther’s morning prayer is a prayer that Luther wrote for his own personal use and for the instruction of his family and followers. He included it in his Small Catechism, a manual of Christian doctrine that he published in 1529. Luther’s morning prayer is one of the most widely used prayers among Lutherans and other Christians around the world. It is a prayer that covers all the essential aspects of our relationship with God and our daily lives.

Luther’s morning prayer consists of four parts: an invocation, a recitation of the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer, a personal prayer, and a blessing. Here is the full text of Luther’s morning prayer in English:

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me.

Then I say the Ten Commandments, or, if I have time, I say what is written in the book of Moses.

Then I say the Apostles’ Creed.

Then I say the Lord’s Prayer.

Then I pray this prayer:

I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

Then I bless myself with the holy cross and say:

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The benefits of praying Luther’s morning prayer

Praying Luther’s morning prayer can have many benefits for your spiritual life and your daily life. Here are some of them:

• Starting your day off on the right foot: Praying Luther’s morning prayer can help you to start your day off on the right foot by reminding you of who God is and who you are in relation to Him. By invoking His name, you acknowledge His presence and His authority over your life. By reciting His commandments, His creed, and His prayer, you affirm His will and His promises for you. By praying your personal prayer, you express your gratitude, praise, confession, petition, and dedication to Him. By blessing yourself with His cross, you seal yourself with His grace and protection.
• Growing in your faith: Praying Luther’s morning prayer can help you to grow in your faith by deepening your knowledge of God’s word and your love for God’s people. By reciting His commandments, you learn what He expects from you as His child and how He wants you to live in obedience to Him. By reciting His creed, you learn what He has done for you as your Savior and how He wants you to believe in Him. By reciting His prayer, you learn how He wants you to communicate with Him and how He wants you to depend on Him. By praying your personal prayer, you learn how He wants you to relate to Him as your Father and how He wants you to trust in Him.
• Receiving God’s blessings: Praying Luther’s morning prayer can help you to receive God’s blessings by opening your heart to His grace and His gifts. By thanking Him for keeping you safe during the night, you acknowledge His care and His providence for you. By asking Him to keep you from sin and evil during the day, you acknowledge His power and His holiness over you. By commending yourself into His hands, you acknowledge His love and His mercy for you. By asking Him to send His holy angel to be with you, you acknowledge His presence and His protection for you.
• Experiencing peace and joy: Praying Luther’s morning prayer can help you to experience peace and joy by filling your mind with His truth and your soul with His Spirit. By reciting His word, you fill your mind with His truth that sets you free from lies and doubts. By praying His prayer, you fill your soul with His Spirit that gives you peace and joy in all circumstances. By blessing yourself with His cross, you fill your heart with His grace that gives you hope and confidence in all situations.
• Overcoming challenges and temptations: Praying Luther’s morning prayer can help you to overcome challenges and temptations by strengthening your faith and your resolve. By reciting His commandments, you strengthen your faith in His law and your resolve to obey Him. By reciting His creed, you strengthen your faith in His gospel and your resolve to follow Him. By reciting His prayer, you strengthen your faith in His providence and your resolve to rely on Him. By praying your personal prayer, you strengthen your faith in His forgiveness and your resolve to repent of your sins.

I can personally testify to the benefits of praying Luther’s morning prayer. Ever since I started praying Luther’s morning prayer every morning, I have noticed a positive change in my attitude, my behavior, and my relationship with God and others. I feel more grateful, more joyful, more peaceful, more confident, and more faithful. I have also noticed that I am able to overcome challenges and temptations more easily, as I have God’s word and God’s Spirit to guide me and help me.

Tips for using Luther’s morning prayer effectively

If you want to use Luther’s morning prayer effectively, here are some tips that I have found helpful:

• Pray regularly and consistently: Make it a habit to pray Luther’s morning prayer every morning as soon as you wake up. This will help you to start your day off on the right foot and grow in your faith. You can also pray Luther’s evening prayer every night before you go to sleep. This will help you to end your day on the right note and rest in God’s peace.
• Pray with a sincere heart and open mind: Don’t just recite Luther’s morning prayer mechanically or mindlessly. Pray it with a sincere heart and open mind, meaning what you say and listening to what God says. Let the words of the prayer speak to your heart and let the Spirit of God speak to your mind. Let the prayer be a conversation between you and God, not just a ritual or a routine.
• Meditate on the words of the prayer and allow them to speak to your heart: Don’t just rush through Luther’s morning prayer without paying attention to the words. Meditate on the words of the prayer and allow them to speak to your heart. Think about what each word means and how it applies to your life. Reflect on how God has kept you safe during the night, how He wants you to live during the day, how He has saved you through Christ, how He wants you to pray to Him, how He forgives you of your sins, how He protects you from evil, how He blesses you with grace. Let the words of the prayer inspire you, challenge you, comfort you, and transform you.
• Journal about your prayers and reflect on how God is answering them: Don’t just pray Luther’s morning prayer without keeping track of how God is answering them. Journal about your prayers and reflect on how God is answering them. Write down what you are thankful for, what you are asking for, what you are confessing, what you are dedicating to God. Write down how God is showing His care, His power, His love, His mercy, His presence, His protection in your life. Write down how God is helping you to obey Him, believe Him, depend on Him, relate to Him, trust in Him. Write down how God is giving you peace, joy, hope, confidence in all circumstances. Write down how God is helping you to overcome challenges and temptations in all situations.

Conclusion

Luther’s morning prayer is a powerful way to start your day and grow in faith. It is a simple but profound prayer that covers all the essential aspects of our relationship with God and our daily lives. It is a prayer that expresses gratitude, praise, confession, petition, and dedication to God. It is a prayer that has many benefits for our spiritual life and our daily life.

I encourage you to start praying Luther’s morning prayer today. You will be amazed at how it will change your life for the better. You will be amazed at how it will bring you closer to God.

I hope this article has been helpful for you. If it has, please share it with others who might benefit from it as well.

May God bless you as you pray Luther’s morning prayer.