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Prayer Reflecting on the Shooting in Orlando, Florida, June 2016

Father in heaven, your holy Word tells us to mourn with those who mourn, and to not repay evil with evil, but to overcome evil with good (Romans 12).

Day by day your people pray “Deliver us from evil.” It grieves us to see evil and violence. We are grieved once again by the shooting last week in Orlando, Florida.

We pray for those who live with anger—move them to seek help and move friends, family and others who sense that anger to help them.
We pray for those who were injured—if it is your will, speed the healing of wounds to body and mind.
We pray for the friends and families of those who were killed—draw them to yourself. Lead them to find comfort, hope, healing and peace in you.
We also pray that we may give faithful witness for the hope that we have, with gentleness and respect, that those around us may be led by us to you, and that they may be moved and enlightened by your gospel of peace.

…through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Prayer Reflecting on the Shooting in Orlando, Florida, June 2016 by Paul C. Stratman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please contact for any commercial usage.

Prayer Reflecting on the Shooting at Umqua Community College in Oregon, October 2015

Father in heaven, day by day your people pray “Deliver us from evil.” It grieves us to see evil and violence. We are grieved once again by the shooting last week in Oregon.

We pray for those who live with anger—move them to seek help and move friends, family and others who sense that anger to help them.
We pray for those who were injured—speed the healing of wounds to body and mind.
We pray for the friends and families of those who were killed—draw them to yourself. Lead them to find comfort, hope, healing and peace in you.
We also pray that we may give faithful witness for the hope that we have, with gentleness and respect, that those around us may be led by us to you, and that they may be moved and enlightened by your gospel of peace.

…through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Prayer Reflecting on the Shooting at Umqua Community College in Oregon, October 2015 by Pastor Paul C. Stratman under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please contact for any commercial usage.

Closing Prayer for Holy (Maundy) Thursday

This prayer may be used in place of the prayers “We give thanks, almighty God,…” “O God the Father, source of all goodness…” or other closing prayers in the service..

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ, on the night before you suffered, you showed your disciples the extent of your love, you gave them this sacrament of forgiveness and remembrance, and you promised them that you would drink it again with them in your Father’s kingdom. As we have partaken of this sacrament, show us your love in your words of invitation, restore our joy in the forgiveness you have won by your death and resurrection, and give us hope in the promise you have given of a feast to come. In this sacrament, live and rule in us, even as you live and rule with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Formatted as poetry:

Lord Jesus Christ,
on the night before you suffered,
you showed your disciples the extent of your love,
you gave them this sacrament of forgiveness and remembrance,
and you promised them that you would drink it again with them
in your Father’s kingdom.
As we have partaken of this sacrament,
show us your love in your words of invitation,
restore our joy in the forgiveness you have won by your death
and resurrection,
and give us hope in the promise you have given of a feast to
come.
In this sacrament,
live and rule in us,
even as you live and rule with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.

Closing Prayer for Holy (Maundy) Thursday by Paul C. Stratman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please contact for any commercial usage.

A Closing Prayer for Easter Dawn

This prayer is written to go with the lessons for The Resurrection of our Lord–Easter Dawn, Isaiah 12:1-6, 1 Corinthians 15:51-57, John 20:1-18.

M: The Lord is risen!
C: He is risen indeed!

M: Let us pray.
O risen Christ, our stronghold, our sure defense and our Savior, refresh our hearts with the living water of your gospel and cheer our hearts with the shout of your victory. Dry our tears as we deal with the hardships and tragedies of this world, and lift up our heads that we see you as our risen Teacher, Savior and Friend. You live and reign with your Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.

Formatted as poetry:

O risen Christ,
our stronghold, our sure defense and our Savior,
refresh our hearts with the living water of your gospel
and cheer our hearts with the shout of your victory.
Dry our tears as we deal with the hardships
and tragedies of this world,
and lift up our heads that we see you
as our risen Teacher, Savior and Friend.
You live and reign with your Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.

Prayer for Easter Dawn by Paul C. Stratman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please contact for any commercial usage.

Without Stumbling or Stain

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Grant us, O Lord, to live this day in gladness and peace,
without stumbling and without stain,
that reaching the evening victorious over all temptation,
we may praise you,
the eternal God,
for you govern all things,
and are praised
now and forever.

Original Source: Mozarabic Liturgy

Also found at: http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1928/S&S_Prayers.htm

Variant:

Let our prayer, O Lord, come before Thee in the morning. Thou didst take upon Thee our feeble and suffering nature; grant us to pass this day in gladness and peace, without stumbling and without stain; that reaching the even-tide without any temptation, we may praise Thee the Eternal King: through Thy mercy, O our God, who art blessed and dost live, and govern all things, world without end. Amen.—Mozarabic Liturgy

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/potts/prayermiddle.vi.pr30.html

Also found in Ancient Collects, and Other Prayers, ed. William Bright, 1902, p. 8 #1

And in Prayers Ancient and Modern by Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston, Little Brown, 1914, p. 354 #2

Graphic: Mozarabic manuscript from the Cathedral of Leon, from Wikimedia Commons.

We Commend Ourselves This Day

Into your hands, O God,
we commend ourselves
and all who are dear to us this day.
Let your presence be with us even to its close.
Let us never lose sight of you
all the day long,
but let us worship and pray to you,
that at evening we may again give you thanks;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Original Source: Gelasian Sacramentary

Also found at: http://www.woodfordvalleyparish.org.uk/prayers.html

Variant:

Into your hands, O Lord,
we commend ourselves this day.
Let your presence be with us to its close.
Strengthen us to remember
that in whatever good work we do we are serving you.
Give us a diligent and watchful spirit,
that we may seek to know your will in all things,
and in knowing it, gladly to perform it,
to the honor and glory of your name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Graphic, Gelasian Sacramentary, from Wikipedia.com

A Prayer of St. Augustine

220px-sandro_botticelli_050 Eternal God, you are the light of the minds that know you,
the joy of the hearts that love you,
and the strength of the wills that serve you.
Grant us so to know you,
that we may truly love you, and so to love you
that we may fully serve you,
and to serve you is perfect freedom,
in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Source: Attributed to St. Augustine of Hippo, 354-430, also found in the Gelasian Sacramentary

Also found at: http://www.catholicdoors.com/prayers/english3/p02711.htm

and http://ctkprayers.blogspot.com/2009/02/eternal-god-light-of-minds-that-know.html

Graphic by Sandro Botticeli from Wikipedia.com.

Come Holy Spirit

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.

V. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

O God, by the light of the Holy Spirit you instructed the hearts of the faithful. Grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy his consolations; through Christ Our Lord.
R. Amen.

Original Source: First prayer and response, Byzantine Liturgy, Pentecost Vespers, Troparion.

Source of This Version: http://catholicism.about.com/od/prayers/qt/Come_HS_Prayer.htm

Original Latin:

Veni, Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium: et tui amoris in eis ignem accende.

V. Emitte Spiritum tuum, et creabuntur.
R. Et renovabis faciem terrae.

Oremus.

Deus, qui corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti: da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere; et de eius semper consolatione gaudere. Per Christum, Dominum nostrum.

The Common Table Prayer

The_Mealtime_Prayer_-_Fritz_von_Uhde_-_Google_Cultural_Institute — “Come, Lord Jesus, Be Our Guest” by Fritz von Uhde (1848-1911)

Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest,
Let these gifts to us be blessed.

Source: Common use

Variant: …Let thy gifts…

Variant: …And let this meal to us be blessed.

Original: German, sometimes attributed to Martin Luther

Komm, Herr Jesu; sei du unser Gast;
und segne, was du uns bescheret hast.

References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_table_prayer

Sources

Most of the classic prayers are in the public domain. The books listed below are the primary sources.

Use or quotation of a resource is not neccessarily an endorsement of everything found in that book or website.

Books

Ancient Collects and Other Prayers Selected for Devotional Use from Various Rituals, Ed. by William Bright, D.D., J.H. & Jas. Parker, London, 1902

The Lutheran Liturgy (St. Louis: Concordia, 1945?)

Mozarabic Collects, Translated and Arranged from the Ancient Liturgy of the Spanish Church, Rev. Chas. R. Hale, S. T. D. New York, James Pott, Publishers, 1881

Seed-Grains of Prayer, A Manual for Evangelical Christians by William Loehe, Lutheran Pastor, translated by H. A. Weller. Chicago, Wartburg Publishing House, 1914

Websites

The websites are of varying levels of quality and varying doctrinal viewpoints. The websites were still helpful to confirm the sources, and to find other (and sometimes longer or better) versions of prayers.

http://www.thebreadboxletters.com/
http://tomwills.typepad.com/thenewchristianyear/
http://godspace-msa.com/
http://www.invitationtoprayer.org/
http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/liturgy/liturgy.html
http://www.plts.edu/
http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/
http://www.ccel.org
https://aspiritfilledlife.wordpress.com
http://www.liturgies.net/
http://www.woodfordvalleyparish.org.uk/prayers.html
https://paxtonvic.wordpress.com/
http://1stholistic.com/Spl_prayers/
https://prayerandverse.com/
https://www.hymnary.org/
http://orderofcenturions.org/
http://sbabbey.com/
https://reformedchristianmuse.wordpress.com/
http://www.aholyexperience.com
http://www.beliefnet.com
http://christianicon.tumblr.com/
https://www.churchofengland.org/
http://tonusperegrinus.blogspot.com/
http://www.oremus.org/
http://kairos2.com/
http://www.catholicity.com/
http://www.htj.org.uk/
http://spirituality.org/
http://stoswaldsoswestry.org.uk/
http://presidentialprayerteam.com/
http://abstractcathedral.com/
http://catholictradition.org/
https://prayers4reparation.wordpress.com
https://anglicanprayer.wordpress.com/
http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/prayers/
http://www.lords-prayer-words.com/
http://www.newadvent.org/
https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/
http://godprayers.org
http://getupwithgod.com/
http://www.prayingeachday.org/
http://www.worldprayers.org/
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/
http://www.ourcatholicprayers.com/
http://www.woodfordvalleyparish.org.uk
http://www.catholicdoors.com/
http://ctkprayers.blogspot.com
http://catholicism.about.com/