Morning Prayers

By Renee Edwards

In June 2023 my friend Donna gifted a set of seven morning prayers to me, introducing me to the beauty of a prayer practice so short and simple, deep and wide.

After a few months of praying through these prayers that uniquely tenderized my heart and renewed my mind, I grew curious about the morning prayers that might come out of me. Filling the pages of my journal had been a longtime rhythm for me, but I felt drawn to the uncomplicated structure and brevity I loved in these morning prayers: a name for God illuminated by Scripture, a truth articulated in a few lines, and a petition for grace.

I tried a few, and I was hooked. It became a favorite response to my time with the Lord--trying to capture the essence of any given day's encounter in only a few lines inspired by that simple structure. In time, I forgot the method and began letting whatever happened happen. A little poem often required a silly amount of time-writing a line, scratching out words, re-working the rhymes, re-thinking until it felt "right enough" or until time ran out.

The Lord was moving powerfully in my life in 2023 when these prayers first took shape, drawing me to deeper intimacy, surrender, and freedom--so much so that in 2024, I retired from a beloved career as a high school English teacher that spanned 18 years, unsure what the future would hold but strongly sensing a call to adventure, romance, surprise, and new life in Christ I hadn't even begun to imagine. Especially in the events of 2025-from moving to South Africa to being diagnosed with breast cancer-these poems became markers of where the Lord met me, the ways I was recognizing Him and responding to Him.

I'm grateful to have some of these important moments with the Lord captured in a few lines-even if imperfectly. These prayers form a map for me to look back and remember. Easily accessible, easy to share, easy to return to when my heart needs reminding.

These poems are far from perfect, and I find myself hesitating to print them here, especially since nearly every time I read one, I tweak a word or phrase, and I've enjoyed that impermanence. Collecting them here in one place, I'm aware how they've changed in structure, recently taking on a more childlike rhyme and meter, which is perhaps in keeping with a growing theme in my relationship with Christ, that I am His beloved child, and need not be anything more.

And so I offer this little collection--most especially to my mom who has responded to a few of my morning prayers with such tenderness and has gently asked several times if I might make a little book, and indebted to my daughter who had the same thought, felt certain it would be easy to do, and offered to design a cover and format it for me. And because it's Christmas-a time for gifting, and in this case throwing caution and careful precision to the wind.

December 2025

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GBVBWP8T
• ISBN13: 9798279154333
• Release Date: December 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 52 Pages
• Weight: 0.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 5.0" x 8.0"