Author: pastorstratman

Lutheran pastor and musician serving St. Stephen's in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.

You Are Always Ready to Hear

Almighty and eternal God,
you are always more ready to hear than we are to pray,
and to give more than we ask or deserve.
Pour down on us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid,
and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.

Source: Gelasian Sacramentary, 8th Century, Historic Collect for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity

Source of this version: Translation © 2016 Paul C. Stratman

This translation is licensed by Paul C. Stratman under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please contact for permission for any commercial use.

 

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Fix Our Hearts with Steadfast Faith

Merciful and eternal God,
you did not spare your only Son
but gave him up for us all
that he might bear our sins on the cross.
Grant that our hearts may be so fixed
with steadfast faith in him
that we may not fear any trouble;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Saxon Agenda 1540, LXII (B)

 

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Prayer for the Lord’s Day

Almighty Father,
dwell among us today
and fill us with yourself.
Say to each one of us,
“I am your salvation.”
Speak to us so that we cannot fail to hear.
Show yourself to us,
and show us how badly we need you.
Uphold your servants
who proclaim your Word in your temple
and lead the worship of your people.
Touch the hearts of the hearers
that they may receive and serve you.
Hear us, O heavenly Father,
for the sake of your only Son.
Amen.

Source: attributed to Augustine of Hippo, d. 430

Source of this version: Freely modified The Hymnal and Order of Service, The Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod, 1925, p. 679 #3

 

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Prayer for the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

O almighty God,
you are the author of everlasting happiness.
Sustain and comfort us in all the trials of this present life,
and grant to us at last, in your presence,
fullness of joy, and pleasure for evermore;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Freely modified from Mozarabic Collects, ed. Rev. Chas. R. Hale, New York, 1881, p. 35#2 (Trinity 16)

“you are the author of everlasting happiness” may be a reference to James 1:17

“Sustain” may be a reference to Psalm 55:22

“Sustain and comfort us in all the trials …” may be a reference to Acts 14:22, 2 Corinthians 1:3.

“grant to us at last, in your presence, fullness of joy…” is a reference to Psalm 16:11

 

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Bless, Preserve, and Keep Us

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit
bless, preserve, and keep us.
The Lord mercifully with look on us with his favor,
and fill us with all spiritual benediction and grace,
that we may live godly, righteously, and soberly in this life,
and in the world to come we may have life everlasting.
Amen.

Source: The gospel of the kingdom, a vade-mecum of texts and prayers of intercession, ed. Hugh Croskery, 1877 and Short services for family worship: arranged chiefly from the Book of common prayer by John Gibson, 1844

This blessing is based in part on Numbers 6:24ff.

A Sarum Blessing (7)

May the Lord direct our hearts,
this day and for ever,
in the love of God
and in the patient waiting for Christ.
The Lord bless us and preserve us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life;
through Jesus + Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Parts are from Sarum Rite (“The Lord bless us…”).

Source of this version: The gospel of the kingdom, a vade-mecum of texts and prayers of intercession, ed. Hugh Croskery, 1877

 

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