A Morning Prayer for Joy

Father, I woke up flat this morning, the way a song sounds when the music has drained out of it. My eyes are open but something inside me feels muted, and I want the gladness I used to know.

I confess I have been waiting for circumstances to hand me joy, treating it like a mood that visits when life cooperates, instead of a gift that flows from being close to You.

So I turn to You, the source of every good thing, and I ask You to put a song back in my chest. Not a forced cheerfulness, but the deep, steady gladness that does not depend on the weather of my day.

You said that in Your presence there is fullness of joy, and that the joy of the Lord is my strength. So I come into Your presence and ask You to fill what feels empty.

Let me notice the small bright things today, the kindness, the laughter, the mercy hiding in plain sight. I give You my flatness, and I trust You to turn it into joy. Amen.