Today a tomb holds him who holds the creation in the hollow of his hand; a stone covers him who covered the heavens with glory. Life sleeps and hell trembles, and Adam is set free from his bonds. Glory to your eternal plan, whereby you have accomplished all things, granting us an eternal Sabbath, your most holy Resurrection from the dead. What is this sight that we behold? What is this present rest? The King of the ages, having fulfilled the plan of salvation through his passion, keeps Sabbath in the tomb, granting us a new Sabbath. To him let us cry aloud: Arise, O Lord, judge the earth, for measureless is your great mercy and you reign forever. Come, let us see our Life lying in the tomb, that he may give life to those that in their tombs lie dead. Come, let us look today on the Son of Judah as he sleeps, and with the prophet let us cry aloud to him: You have lain down, you have slept as a lion; who shall awaken you, O King? But of your own free will you rise up, who willingly gives yourself for us. O Lord, glory to you!
Source: Mattins, Holy Saturday, Orthodox, Oxford Book of Prayer 653, slightly modified.
Prayers Ancient Made Modern (Annotated) is now available through Amazon.com. The price of the paperback edition is reduced to $12.50 for the 2024 Christmas season.
This collection of prayers for daily use has been gathered from many sources, ancient and modern. It has historical interest, and the literary quality has been carefully considered, but the primary object is to nourish the spiritual life. As the design is to provide a brief selection for every day, in many cases a portion only of a long prayer is given, or it is condensed by omission, but alterations have been made as sparingly as possible. Fourteen centuries of prayer, aspiration, and praise unite here in one harmony of devotion. Mary Wilder Tileston, from the Preface to Prayers Ancient and Modern
The book Prayers Ancient and Modern was also published under the title Great Souls at Prayer. Mary Wilder Tileston made a revised edition in 1928 in which she removed about a quarter of the prayers from the 1897 edition and added newer prayers. This revision is based on the 1897 edition to give preference to ancient prayers.
All the prayers in this edition have been modified, some more freely than others. Most I revised in such a way that they remain direct quotes of the originals.
In all the revision and overhauling, I tried to keep some of the language and spirit of the originals. Prayers Ancient and Modern is available and downloadable from Google Books and from Archive.org if readers wish to compare this book with the original.
In this annotated edition, a short biography or explanation of the source is given the first time that author or source appears in this book. If no annotation of author or source is given for a prayer, consult the Index of Authors. Biographies and explanations are condensed from Wikipedia, archive.org, and other sources.
Prayers Ancient Made Modern (Annotated) now has no substituted prayers. Every prayer from the 1897 edition of Prayers Ancient and Modern is now reproduced in modern English.
Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done, and there is no health in us: but thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults. Restore thou them that be penitent, according to thy promises declared unto mankind, in Christ Jesu our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of thy holy name. Amen.
Almighty and merciful God, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done. O Lord, have mercy upon us. Spare those who confess their faults. Restore those who are penitent, according to your promises declared to the world in Christ Jesus, our Lord. And grant, O merciful God, for his sake, that we may live a holy, just, and humble life to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
Source: The Worship Sourcebook, first edition, 2004, p. 90, Book of Common Prayer, (1552) alt., public domain.
Rite Two in the Book of Common Prayer (1979) has a streamlined version of the prayer:
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006) adapted the confession:
Most merciful God, we confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
Lutheran Worship (1982) and Lutheran Service Book (2006) have also adapted the confession:
Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
Christian Worship: Hymnal (2021, WELS) has also adapted the confession in a manner closer to the BCP original:
Almighty and merciful Father, we have strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed what we have devised and desired in our hearts. We have offended you and sinned against your holy law. We have done those things that we should not have done, and we have not done those things that we should have done. Have mercy on us, Lord! Spare us, forgive us, and restore us, according to your promises in Christ Jesus.
PLEASE NOTE: This entry includes copyrighted texts, used under fair use in reviews or reference materials. To reprint or use these materials, contact the respective publishers.
Augustine was a bishop who lived in Hippo, a city in North Africa on the Mediterranean. He came to faith and was baptized at age 31 after living a wild life and even spending some time in the Manichaean cult. He became one of the most influential writers in the early church and is considered one of the great ‘Doctors of the Church.’ The Christian Church remembers Augustine on August 28.
Hear, Lord, my prayer;
do not let my soul faint under your discipline,
do not let me faint in confessing to you all your mercies,
for you have drawn me out of all my most evil ways,
that you might be my delight
above all the allurements which I once pursued;
that I may most entirely love you,
and clasp your hand with all my affections,
so that you may still rescue me from every temptation,
even to the end.
For lo, O Lord, my King and my God,
I give for your service whatever useful thing my childhood learned,
that I speak, write, read, reckon for your service.
For you granted me your discipline,
while I was learning vanities;
and my sin of delighting in those vanities you have forgiven.
Lord Jesus, healer and Savior, bring health and unity to your people in their families. Provide for all their needs with your abundance. Bring health and strength to your people in their weakness. Bring growth in wisdom, strength in faith and spirit, and growth and strength in body to children everywhere. Watch over the hearts of the weary and burdened, and direct them to cast their cares on you, that they respond to life’s troubles with patient endurance, and put away anxiety and anger. Give your people useful work that serves the good of others, and provide for all our needs. Lift and bind your people everywhere in the bonds of holy love and prayer. Uplift, strengthen, and heal us all; you live and reign, now and forever. Amen.
Source: Paul C. Stratman, August 4, 2024, from an online request.
I am pleased to announce a new resource from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s Commission on Worship. These psalm devotional study sheets lead the reader through the content of each psalm, and each study closes with a prayer taken from A Collection of Prayers’ Mozarabic and Sarum collections of psalm prayers.
The Psalms are the Holy Spirit’s own hymnbook. They are rich in the history of Israel, the prophecies of Christ, the wisdom of God and the steadfast love of the Lord. You probably know a few by heart. It was once required that pastors be able to “sing an entire David,” that is, to know the whole Psalter from memory (Canons of the Second Council of Nicea, Canon 2).
But what if you’re just starting to learn and pray the Psalms?
With your Bible and one of these pages in hand, you should have everything you need to take your first step into any of the 150 Psalms.
These “One-Sheets” were an outgrowth of the 2024 Institute on Liturgy, Preaching and Church Music where, over the course of the four-day conference, attendees sang and prayed all 150 Psalms together. We are delighted to release this resource for the good of the wider church.
They are ideal for rehearsals so that choirs can sing with understanding. They could be used for Bible study starters or bulletin inserts. Above all, we commend them to your devotional use as a tool to help you pray and sing the Psalms with faith in Jesus Christ.
Pastor Daenzer told me that these psalm studies may be published together in book form soon. If and when that happens, I will announce it here on A Collection of Prayers.
Books are available through Amazon.com. Books contain directions for downloadable files, which include an HTML page of links (like those above) for import into Service Builder.
Almighty God, your Word calls your people to walk in the way of peace, (Luke 1:79) and your dear Son has given us a peace that the world cannot give. (John 14:27) Lead us in love, that our thoughts, words and actions always seek your peace which is ours in Jesus. Let our speech always be gracious, seasoned with the salt of your truth and love. (Colossians 4:6) Calm troubled hearts. When we are upset, keep us from sin. (Psalm 4:4) Guard and protect your people from all violence. Heal those who are hurting, and turn the hearts of those who are hurtful. Lord, you love righteousness and justice. Let your mercy fill the earth; (Psalm 33:25) through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Source: Paul C. Stratman, July 14, 2024
In a paragraph:
Almighty God, your Word calls your people to walk in the way of peace, (Luke 1:79) and your dear Son has given us a peace that the world cannot give. (John 14:27) Lead us in love, that our thoughts, words and actions always seek your peace which is ours in Jesus. Let our speech always be gracious, seasoned with the salt of your truth and love. (Colossians 4:6) Calm troubled hearts. When we are upset, keep us from sin. (Psalm 4:4) Guard and protect your people from all violence. Heal those who are hurting, and turn the hearts of those who are hurtful. Lord, you love righteousness and justice. Let your mercy fill the earth; (Psalm 33:25) through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Because Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei were some of last year’s top hits, I wrote a series on the Western Rite.
The chief views continue to be from English speaking countries (U.S., U. K., Canada and Australia), but there is growing usage from the Philippines, India and South Africa. We also got one hit from Iran!
Links to A Collection of Prayers
WordPress lets me see referrers, that is, other websites that have a link to A Collection of Prayers. The biggest referrers are the Christian spirituality website www.christianity.com and a liturgy website www.liturgies.net, followed by individual ministries, churches, and even some denominational websites.
The past year was more quiet on A Collection of Prayers because of commitments in my work.
A denomination contacted me about using psalm prayers for a worship conference. Devotional publishers have also contacted me about using A Collection of Prayers and some of my books as a source. I am always happy to share my work. People who share free worship materials on their websites have contacted me for permission to use and share–which is what A Collection of Prayers is all about.
Gracious God and Father, watch over all your people, those who struggle with doubts, those who struggle with the labors of life, those who sometimes struggle as they seek you. Calm our hearts with your Word, and with your dear Son’s promise, “I will give you rest.” Pour out your abundant blessings on us, give us the assurance of your love in Jesus Christ. Give us confidence as we face the challenges ahead. Give us health of body and spirit, and blessings in all things; through your Son who gave himself for us so that we could be his, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Source: Paul C. Stratman, April 27, 2024, from an online request.
Us / we may be substituted with a name or names, him / her or they / them.
A Collection of Prayers 