DAILY RHYTHM OF PRAYER – SEPTEMBER
For much of the church’s history, followers of Jesus have prayed at set times throughout the day—what many call “the hours.” This rhythm wasn’t meant to be an oppressive obligation but a way of noticing God’s presence woven into ordinary life. In the Celtic tradition, prayer marked the rising of the sun, the work of midday, the evening meal, and the closing of night. Each pause was a reminder that our lives are held in God’s story, and that every moment, whether full of joy or burden, is gathered up into His grace.
When we stop to pray morning, afternoon, around the table, and night, we are practicing a simple act of surrender. We step out of our own hurry and agendas to remember who we are, whose we are, and where our hope lies. It’s a way of letting Jesus shape the rhythm of our days, not just the margins of them.
And you are invited to participate alongside Missio. Each month we will have a fresh set of prayers to surrender your moments and shape your days.
You Are Loved.
MORNING PRAYER (Philippians 1:3–6)
Father, thank You for this new day, a gift held within Your larger story.
I begin with gratitude confessing You began a good work, and You will bring it to completion when Jesus returns to set all things right. I don’t have to work from anxiety today, but from a secure identity as your child.
As I step into the day, remind me that my small acts of faithfulness are part of Your new creation breaking into the world. Fill me with love that grows in wisdom, so that my life points to Jesus and bears fruit that lasts.
This day is Yours.
I am Yours.
AFTERNOON PRAYER (Philippians 1:12–14)
Jesus, in the middle of the day I pause.
Paul reminds me that even his chains became a doorway for the gospel: “What has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.”
Take the interruptions, frustrations, and even the setbacks of this day and use them for Your purposes.
Turn weakness into witness.
Let courage rise in me, not because I’m strong, but because the risen Jesus is Lord, and His kingdom cannot be stopped.
Your Spirit is here, and I am not alone.
DINNER PRAYER (Philippians 1:9–11)
Jesus, as we gather at the table, we remember Paul’s prayer for his friends he prayed that their love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. Would you
feed us tonight with more than food , nourish us with Your love.
Would you open our eyes to see one another, and our neighbors, as image-bearers in whom You delight.
The food on this table and the people who surround it are reminders of your grace.
Strengthen us to live lives filled with the fruit of righteousness, signposts of Your kingdom coming on earth as in heaven.
And if I eat alone tonight, let even this meal remind me I’m part of Your great family, stretching across time and space, awaiting together the day when all creation is renewed.
COMPLINE / NIGHT PRAYER (Philippians 1:20–21)
Father, the day is done, and I entrust it to You.
Paul’s words steady me: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
My life belongs to you Jesus, in waking and sleeping, in life and in death.
As I rest, remind me that the story doesn’t depend on me but on You. Your Spirit is working even as I lay down my labor of the day.
Quiet my mind, guard my sleep, and give me courage to rise again tomorrow, joining afresh in the work we will do together.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit-
Amen.
Breath Prayers based on Philippians 1
Breath prayers—may seem like a foreign concept, but they are no stranger to disciples of Jesus. These short, memorable phrases are drawn directly from Scripture as a way of slowing down and meditating on a text. Ruth Haley Barton describes them as a way of sinking prayer into the body, training us to stay attuned to God’s presence in the middle of our scattered lives.
Our hope is that these prayers help us inhale God’s truth and exhale our fears, distractions, or striving. In a sense, they are like carrying a piece of God’s Story in our pocket, ready to be prayed in a coffee line, during a walk across campus, or in the middle of a hard conversation. They can serve to tether us back to Jesus, moment by moment, until prayer is not just something we do, but the atmosphere we live in, a constant conversation that is as close as our breath.
You can practice them by spending a moment, or two, or twenty simply breathing in while saying the “inhale” phrase and breathing out as you repeat the “exhale” phrase.
Inhale: He who began a good work
Exhale: Will complete it.
Philippians 1.6
Inhale: Christ is proclaimed
Exhale: and I rejoice.
Philippians 1:12–14
Inhale: Let love abound
Exhale: more and more.
Philippians 1:9–11
Inhale: To live is Christ
Exhale: to die is gain.
Philippians 1:20–21