Most merciful God,
helper of all,
strengthen us by your power
that our sorrow may be turned into joy
and that we may continually glorify your holy name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Source: Sarum Rite
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.
Graphic: Page from an English Psalter, from Flickr, Walters Art Museum, Public Domain.
O Lord,
be our Shepherd,
so we may receive all good things from your kindness.
Fill us with your overflowing cup,
and bring us to dwell in your house forever;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Source: Sarum Breviary
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers Ancient and Modern
by Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston, Little Brown, 1914, p. 153 #2
O most merciful and gracious God,
hear our prayers,
and deliver our hearts
from the temptation of evil thoughts,
that by your goodness,
we may be a fitting dwelling for your Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Source: Priest’s Prayer Book
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers Ancient and Modern
by Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston, Little Brown, 1914, p. 123 #1
O Lord,
may all who contend for the faith
never injure it by discord and impatience,
but speaking your precious truth in love,
present it that it may be loved,
and that people may see your truth
as goodness and beauty. Amen.
Source: William Bright
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers Ancient and Modern
by Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston, Little Brown, 1914, p. 107 #2
O Lord,
give strength to those who seek you,
and always pour into their souls
the holy desire of seeking you;
that those who long to see your face
may not crave the deceiving pleasures of the world.
Amen.
Source: Mozarabic Rite
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers Ancient and Modern
by Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston, Little Brown, 1914, p. 102 #1
Graphic: Mozarabic manuscript from the Cathedral of Leon, from Wikimedia Commons.
O God,
deliver us from earthly desires,
that no sin may reign in us,
but that we may with free spirits serve you,
our only Lord;
through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Source: Gelasian Sacramentary
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers Ancient and Modern
by Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston, Little Brown, 1914, p. 85 #2
Graphic, Gelasian Sacramentary, from Wikipedia.com
O Lord,
guide us in your way,
and mercifully show the fountain of your wisdom
to our thirsting minds;
that we may be free from heavy sorrows,
and may drink in the sweetness of life eternal.
Amen.
Source: Mozarabic Rite
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers Ancient and Modern
by Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston, Little Brown, 1914, p. 80 #1
Graphic: Mozarabic manuscript from the Cathedral of Leon, from Wikimedia Commons.
Rest on us,
O Spirit of Love,
and chase all anger, envy,
and bitter grudges from our souls.
Be our Comforter in trial,
when the storm goes over our heads;
be our Strength in the hour of weakness,
and help us to control the desires of the flesh.
Let us grow in faith and love,
in hope, patience, and humility.
See how many temptations surround us,
and preserve us from giving way to them;
show us the path where we should tread,
for if we trust our own impulses we will go astray;
but if you lead us we shall run in the way of your commandments.
Our hearts lie open before you; enter now with your rich gifts,
strengthen, establish, settle them.
Dwell in them and make them your temple,
so shall we have the pledge of the children of God,
and of our salvation.
Amen.
Source: Johann Friedrich Starck (1680-1756)
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers Ancient and Modern
by Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston, Little Brown, 1914, p. 76 #1
O God,
source of perfect blessedness,
you teach your faithful people to walk in your laws,
to search your testimonies,
to keep your commands;
Give us your righteousness,
that we may seek you with our whole hearts;
that we, who often have wandered like lost sheep,
may be restored by your kind arms,
and rejoice in the glories of Paradise,
through Jesus Christ your Son.
Amen.
Source: Sarum Breviary
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers Ancient and Modern
by Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston, Little Brown, 1914, p. 63 #2
Graphic: Page from an English Psalter, from Flickr, Walters Art Museum, Public Domain.
Forgive me my sins, O Lord,
forgive me the sins of my youth
and the sins of my age,
the sins of my soul,
and the sins of my body,
my secret and my whispering sins,
my overconfident and my crying sins,
the sins that I have done to please myself,
and the sins that I have done to please others.
Forgive me those sins which I know,
and those sins which I do not know;
forgive them, O Lord,
forgive them all of your great goodness. Amen.
Source: Private Devotions, 1560
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers Ancient and Modern
by Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston, Little Brown, 1914, p. 32 #1
A Collection of Prayers 
