O Father of that Son who has awakened us,
you still urge us out of the sleep of our sins,
and call us to become yours.
To you, Lord, we pray,
you, the supreme truth,
for all truth that is, is from you.
You we implore, O Lord,
the highest wisdom,
through you all who are wise derive their wisdom.
You are the supreme joy,
and from you all who are happy derive their pleasure.
You are the highest good,
and from you all beauty springs.
You are the intellectual light,
and from you we derive our understanding.
To you, O God, we call and speak.
Hear us, O Lord,
for you are our God and our Lord,
our Father and our creator,
our ruler and our hope,
our wealth and our honor,
our home, our country,
our salvation, and our life.
Hear, hear us, O Lord.
Few of your servants comprehend you,
but at least we love you,
yes, we love you above all other things.
We seek you, we follow you,
we are ready to serve you.
We desire to remain under your power,
for you are the Sovereign of all.
Command us as you will;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
Source: Alfred the Great, 9th century
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.
A Collection of Prayers 