Prayer for Today: Grace for This One Day
Asking God for exactly what you need for the next twenty-four hours
Morning Prayer editorial team · Updated: November 2026
Jesus taught us to ask for daily bread, not a year's supply. This prayer asks only for what today requires, and leaves tomorrow where it belongs.
Let us pray
Lord, I do not know everything that today will hold, but You do. So I come to You not for a map of the whole journey, only for enough light for the next step.
Give me today the strength I need for today. Not the strength for next week's problems, which I cannot carry yet, but the strength for this morning's conversation, this afternoon's work, this evening's tiredness.
Give me today the patience I need for today: for the person who will interrupt me, for the plan that will fall apart, for my own slowness to learn.
Give me today the courage I need for today: to tell the truth kindly, to ask for help, to try again at the thing I failed at yesterday.
Give me today the joy I need for today. Open my eyes to one beautiful thing I would otherwise walk past. Let me laugh at least once. Let me notice someone who needs a kind word and give it.
And when today ends, let me hand it back to You without regret, trusting that You will meet me again in the morning with new mercy. One day at a time, Lord. That is all You ask, and that is all I need. Amen.
Blessing
May God give you this day your daily bread, and peace enough for every hour of it.
How to pray this prayer
- Find a quiet moment and breathe slowly.
- Read the prayer aloud or in your heart.
- Add your own intention before the Amen.
Frequently asked questions
Why pray only for today instead of the whole week?
Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow and to ask for daily bread. Focusing on today keeps prayer honest and manageable, and it trains us to trust God with what we cannot yet see.
Can I pray this prayer for today every day?
Yes. It is written to be repeated. The words stay the same, but the day they are poured into is always new, so the prayer never becomes stale.
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