Be present,
O merciful God,
and protect us
through the silent hours of his night,
so that we,
who are wearied by the changes
and chances of this fleeting world,
may rest upon your eternal changelessness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Source: An Ancient Collect, sixth century
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Early Church, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1953
O God our Father,
by your mercy and might
the world turns safely into darkness
and returns again to light:
We give into your hands our unfinished tasks,
our unsolved problems,
and our unfulfilled hopes,
knowing that only that what you bless will prosper.
To your great love and protection
we commit each other and all those we love,
knowing that you alone are our sure defender;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
Source: The Church of South India, Book of Common Worship
Source of this version: Modified from http://presidentialprayerteam.com/featured-store-item-2/
Also found here: https://sites.google.com/site/benkelnav/
and also found here: The Oxford Book of Prayer, ed. Appleton, © 1985, 1992
Grant me your grace, most merciful Jesus,
that your grace may be with me,
work in me, and continue with me to the end.
Grant me always
to want and desire whatever is most acceptable to you
and pleases you best.
Let your will be mine,
and let my will always follow yours
and agree perfectly with it.
Let there be between you and me but one will,
so that I may love what you love and abhor what you hate.
Grant that I may die to all things that are in the world
and, for your sake, love to be despised,
and not to be known by the world.
Grant that I may rest in you above all other things,
and that my heart may be at peace in you.
You are the true peace of the heart.
You are its only rest.
Outside of you,
all things are hard and uneasy.
In this peace, the same peace that is in you,
the one sovereign eternal Good,
I will sleep, and I will rest. Amen.
Source: Thomas à Kempis, Imitation of Christ, Book 3
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954. 2
The last paragraph may be a reference or quote of Psalm 4:8.
O good Jesus,
the Word of the Father,
brightness of the Father’s glory,
whom angels desire to behold;
teach me to do your will,
that guided by your good Spirit,
I may come to that blessed city
where there is everlasting day
where all are of one spirit;
where there is certain security
and secure eternity
and eternal tranquility
and quiet felicity
and happy sweetness
and sweet pleasantness;
where you,
with the Father and the Holy Spirit
live and reign,
now and forever.
Source: St. Gregory, d. 638
Source of this version: Modified from http://catholictradition.org/Christmas/christ-child13.htm
Also found here: The Oxford Book of Prayer, ed. Appleton, © 1985, 1992
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
God be at my end, and at my departing.
Source: Attributed to Old Sarum Primer, also attributed to Pynson’s Horae, 1514
Source of this version: http://www.hymnary.org/text/god_be_in_my_head_and_in_my_under
Also found here: The Oxford Book of Prayer, ed. Appleton, © 1985, 1992
Graphic: Page from an English Psalter, from Flickr, Walters Art Museum, Public Domain.
God, of your goodness, give me yourself,
for you are sufficient for me.
I cannot properly ask anything less,
to be worthy of you.
If I were to ask anything less
I should always be in want,
for in you alone do I have all.
Source: Julian of Norwich, d. 1443
Source of this version: Modified from http://www.beliefnet.com/prayers/christian/comfort/i-have-all-in-god.aspx#miyhOGfJa0pdHywi.99
Also found here: The Oxford Book of Prayer, ed. Appleton, © 1985, 1992
Late have I loved you,
Beauty so ancient and so new,
late have I loved you!
Lo, you were within,
but I outside, seeking there for you,
and upon the shapely things you have made
I rushed headlong,
I, misshapen.
You were with me but I was not with you.
They held me back far from you,
those things which would have no being
were they not in you.
You called, shouted, broke through my deafness;
you flared, blazed, banished my blindness;
you lavished your fragrance,
I gasped, and now I pant for you;
I tasted you, and I hunger and thirst;
you touched me, and I burned for your peace.
Source: St. Augustine of Hippo, 354-430, Confessions, X, 27
Source of this version: http://www.deeper-devotion.net/augustine-confessions.html
Also found here: The Oxford Book of Prayer, ed. Appleton, © 1985, 1992
“Now I pant for you” may be a reference to Psalm 42:1
“I tasted you” may be a reference to Psalm 34:8
Graphic by Sandro Botticeli from Wikipedia.com.
Another version, freely modified from Prayers of the Early Church, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1953
Late have I loved you,
Eternal Truth and Goodness.
Late have I sought you, my Father!
But you did seek me,
and when you shined forth on me,
then I knew you and learned to love you.
I thank you, my Light,
that you have shined on me,
and taught my soul what you wanted me to be,
and turned your face in pity to me.
You, Lord, have become my Hope,
my Comfort, my Strength, my All!
In you my soul rejoices.
The darkness vanished from before my eyes,
and I saw you,
the Son of Righteousness.
When I loved darkness, I did not know you,
but wandered on from night to night.
But you led me out of that blindness.
You took me by the hand and called me to you,
and now I can thank you,
and your mighty voice which has penetrated to my inmost heart. Amen.
Praise and glory be to the omnipotence of the eternal Father, who in his Providence created the world out of nothing.
Praise and glory be to the wisdom of his only-begotten Son, who redeemed the world with his blood.
Praise and glory be to the loving kindness of the Holy Spirit, who enlightened the world in faith.
Praise and glory be to the holy and undivided Trinity, who formed us without our deserving it in their image.
We give praise and glory to you, most blessed Trinity, for the blessing of our creation, by which you granted us bodies and souls, you adorned us with your image and likeness, and added us to your Christian flock, making us sound and whole in our sense and in our members, above all the creatures who are beneath the heavens, and gave us your holy angels as our guides and ministers. For all this be pleased that we may praise you, world without end.
Source: Latin, 11th century
Source of this version: The Oxford Book of Prayer, ed. Appleton, © 1985, 1992
Also found here: https://prayers4reparation.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/a-medieval-prayer-of-thanks-and-praise-to-the-holy-trinity/
You are holy, Lord, the only God,
and your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong.
You are great.
You are the Most High.
You are Almighty.
You, Holy Father are King of heaven and earth.
You are Three and One, Lord God, all Good.
You are Good, all Good, supreme Good, Lord God, living and true.
You are love. You are wisdom.
You are humility. You are endurance.
You are rest. You are peace.
You are joy and gladness.
You are justice and moderation.
You are all our riches, and you suffice for us.
You are beauty.
You are gentleness.
You are our protector.
You are our guardian and defender.
You are our courage. You are our haven and our hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are our eternal life, great and wonderful Lord,
God Almighty, merciful Savior.
Source: St. Francis, d. 1226
Source of this version: http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=180
Also found here: Eerdman’s Book of Famous Prayers, © 1983 Lion Publishing
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Source: Attributed to St. Francis, d. 1226. See note below.
Source of this version: Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal, © 1993 Northwestern Publishing House, Milwaukee, Wisc. U.S.A.
Original in French:
Seigneur, faites de moi un instrument de votre paix.
Là où il y a de la haine, que je mette l’amour.
Là où il y a l’offense, que je mette le pardon.
Là où il y a la discorde, que je mette l’union.
Là où il y a l’erreur, que je mette la vérité.
Là où il y a le doute, que je mette la foi.
Là où il y a le désespoir, que je mette l’espérance.
Là où il y a les ténèbres, que je mette votre lumière.
Là où il y a la tristesse, que je mette la joie.
Ô Maître, que je ne cherche pas tant
à être consolé qu’à consoler,
à être compris qu’à comprendre,
à être aimé qu’à aimer,
car c’est en donnant qu’on reçoit,
c’est en s’oubliant qu’on trouve,
c’est en pardonnant qu’on est pardonné,
c’est en mourant qu’on ressuscite à l’éternelle vie.
NOTE: This prayer has its own wikipedia article, which states, “The prayer in its present form cannot be traced back further than 1912.”
Variants:
…it is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.
…it is in dying that we awake to eternal life.
A Collection of Prayers 