A Collection of Prayers

Three Swedish Communion Prayers

When the administration of the holy meal is finished, the pastor turns to the congregation and says:

Let us pray.

Turning to the altar, the pastor offers one of the following thanksgiving collects:

We thank you, almighty Father, through your Son, Jesus Christ you have instituted this holy supper for our comfort and salvation. Grant us grace to celebrate the remembrance of Jesus on earth, that we may also be partakers of the great communion in heaven.
Amen.

or:

We thank you, almighty God, that through this precious meal of grace you have refreshed and satisfied us. Use it to increase our faith and advance us in godliness and all Christlike virtues; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

or:

O Lord Jesus Christ, you have called us to this communion. We humbly thank you for your mercy, that you have fed us here with your body and blood and filled and embraced us with your goodness. O Lord, be near us! We commit ourselves into your hands and put our trust in you. Let us abide with you forever.
Amen.

Source: Freely modified from The Swedish Rite: a translation of “Handbok för svenska kyrkan” by Eric Esskildsen Yelverton, 1921, The Service of High Mass, p. 32

Swedish Morning Prayer

O Lord God, heavenly Father,
we thank you with all our heart
that you have brought us to the beginning of this day
on which we will hear your holy gospel.
Graciously preserve among us the light of your truth,
and so direct and rule our hearts by your Holy Spirit,
that we may never turn away from it,
but remain steadfast in your Word,
and finally, by your grace, receive salvation;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever.
Amen.

Source: Freely modified from The Swedish Rite: a translation of “Handbok för svenska kyrkan” by Eric Esskildsen Yelverton, 1921, Prayer at Mattins, p. 3

Prayer for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

O Lord,
remember that we are dust,
and see the sorrow for sin in our hearts.
In the weakness of our flesh we can only fall.
By your mighty power lift us up;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Freely modified from Mozarabic Collects, ed. Rev. Chas. R. Hale, New York, 1881, p. 34 #1 (Trinity 15)

“remember that we are dust” is a reference to Genesis 2:7, Genesis 3:19, Genesis 18:27, Job 10:9, Job 21:26, Psalm 90:3, Psalm 103:14, Psalm 104:29, Ecclesiastes 3:20

“sorrow for sin” is a reference to Psalm 51:17, Isaiah 57:15, Isaiah 66:2

“lift us up” may be a reference to James 4:10

Swedish Prayer at Evensong

We thank you, O Lord, heavenly Father,
for all the good things that we have this day received from you,
and more especially for your holy Word of salvation.
Bless, O God, with your Spirit
whatever has been sown in our hearts,
and grant that it may bear fruit for eternal life.
Keep your whole church under your gracious protection.
Grant that it may be built up in unity and strength
on Jesus Christ, its living foundation,
and deliver it from false doctrine and all other ill.
Protect and bless with your mighty hand our beloved king and all his house.
Prosper every good word and grant to all estates of men
to feel your help and blessing.
Bless the earth, that it may bring forth its fruit,
and give us after your great goodness whatever is needful to us temporally.
Remember, O God, all who are in sickness and distress,
and be their comfort and help.
Be with us every day and teach us rightly
to use our short and precious time of grace.
Preserve us in body and in soul through the coming night.
Into your hands we commend ourselves and all that we have.
Praised be your holy name.
Amen.

Source: Freely modified from The Swedish Rite: a translation of “Handbok för svenska kyrkan” by Eric Esskildsen Yelverton, 1921, General Prayer at Evensong, p. 37-38

Swedish Evening Prayer

Watch over us, O Lord, heavenly Father,
and preserve us from every evil
that may happen to body and soul.
Give us grace to take our rest in safety this night
beneath your protection;
and when our last evening comes,
grant that we fall asleep in your peace;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Freely modified from The Swedish Rite: a translation of “Handbok för svenska kyrkan” by Eric Esskildsen Yelverton, 1921, “Public Evening Prayer,” p. 40

Creation Prayers

sun_and_moon_creation O Almighty Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
on the first day you created the light,
and you have raised us up to praise and adore you.
Lead us as children of light,
that we may have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

O Almighty God,
on the second day you divided
the waters under the firmament
from the waters above it.
Grant us, as we have been born again
of water and the Holy Spirit,
and refreshed with showers of your blessing,
we may finally drink of the pure river
that flows from your throne;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

O God,
on the third day you made the earth bring forth
every herb and fruit tree for our use.
Grant to us and to your whole Church
that we may remember these and all your mercies
by bringing forth fruits of righteousness
to the honor and praise of your holy name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Amen.

O God,
on the fourth day you created great lights
to give light upon the earth.
Raise up for your Church faithful and wise rulers
who may enlighten it both by their life and doctrine,
and having turned many to righteousness,
they may shine in glory as the stars,
for ever and ever;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Glory to you,O Lord,
on the fifth day you brought forth out of the waters
the moving creature which has life,
the birds of the air and the fish of the sea,
and whatever moves through the paths of the seas.
We praise you for our creation, preservation,
and for all the comforts and blessings of this present life,
but more especially for the grace
of our Christian calling in Christ Jesus,
for your long-suffering mercy and forgiveness,
for the knowledge of your truth and will,
and for the blessed hope of everlasting life
given us through Jesus Christ, your Son our Lord.
Amen.

O God,
by your almighty power
all things living were created,
and on the sixth day you made the first man in your own image.
Mercifully grant that in following your Son,
the Son of Man who came down from heaven,
we may recover that which was lost through sin
and may put on the new man
who is created to be like you in righteousness and true holiness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God.
On the seventh day you rested from all your work.
Blessed are you, O Jesus,
Having finished your work you entered into your rest.
Grant us, that having diligently done your works
all the days of our appointed time on earth,
we may at last enter into your everlasting rest;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Freely modified from Daily Services for Christian Households, compiled and arranged by H. Stobart, 1867. The prayers for the fifth and seventh days were compiled from more than one prayer in Daily Services.

The Purpose of the Cross

Lord God, heavenly Father,
in your fatherly and infinite wisdom
you place your children on earth under the cross
and we endure many troubles.
Through these you guard us against sins
and lead us to believe, hope and pray.
Have mercy on us,
and hear our prayers in every affliction and need,
and send us your gracious help
so that we may know your grace and fatherly goodness,
and praise and glorify you
with all your saints in eternity,
for you, with your Son and the Holy Spirit
alone are the eternal God.
Amen.

Source: Veit Dietrich, d. 1549, Epiphany 4

This revision/translation of The Collects of Veit Dietrich 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.

Into Your Hands We Commit Ourselves

Into your hands we commit ourselves,
blessed Lord,
this night and forever.
Sun of Righteousness,
keep us from utter darkness
and let us sleep in peace,
that we may always be ready
to arise and meet you
when you come again in glory;
with the Father and the Holy Spirit
you are one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Source: Freely modified from Daily services for Christian Households, compiled and arranged by H. Stobart, 1867

Original in traditional English:

Give Your Blessing to Our Daily Work

thomas_arnold_by_thomas_phillips O Lord,
give your blessing to our daily work,
that we may do it in faith, with all our hearts,
as working for the Lord and not for human masters.
All our powers of body and mind are yours,
and we devote them to your service.
Sanctify us and the work in which we are engaged;
let us not be lazy, but diligent in spirit.
O Lord, bless our efforts
that they may bring forth in us
the fruits of true wisdom.
Teach us to seek truth and lead us to find it,
but grant that we may always speak the truth in love,
that while we know earthly things,
we may know you, and be known by you,
through and in your Son Jesus Christ.
Give us this day your Holy Spirit,
that we may be yours in body and spirit
in all our work and all our refreshments;
through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Thomas Arnold, d. 1842

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers Ancient and Modern by Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston, Little Brown, 1914, p. 86

“with all our hearts… not for human masters” is a reference to Colossians 3:23

“let us not be lazy” is a reference to Romans 12:11

“the fruits of true wisdom” may be a reference to James 3:17

“always speak the truth in love” is a reference to Ephesians 4:15

“we may know you, and be known by you” is a reference to Galatians 4:9

“that we may be yours in body and spirit” may be a reference to 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Help Us as We Pass through This Life

O God,
the protector of all who hope in you,
without you nothing is strong and nothing is holy.
Pour out your mercy on us.
Rule us.
Guide us.
Help us as we pass through this life,
and continue in faith to eternal life;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Source: Gregorian Sacramentary, 7th-8th Century, Historic Collect for the Third Sunday after Trinity

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.

Original in Latin:

Protector noster in te sperantium Deus, sine quo nihil est validum nihil sanctum, multiplica super nos misericordiam tuam, ut te rectore, te duce sic transeamus, per bona temporalia, ut non amittamus aeterna. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus. Per omnia secula seculorum, Amen.