Almighty God,
fulfill our desire
and kindle our hearts by your Spirit,
that being filled with the oil of your grace,
we may shine as bright lights
at the coming of your Son Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Source: Gelasian
Source of this version: Freely modified from A Century of Collects, [3] selected and translated by Atwell M. Y. Baylay, 1913.
O God,
my heart is a vain heart,
a wandering and unstable heart
when it is led by its own judgment
and lacking divine counsel,
and it cannot subsist in itself.
When it seeks other ways,
it finds nothing,
but remains miserable in its labor,
and empty of peace.
It does not agree with itself,
it dissents from itself,
it alters resolutions,
changes its judgment,
frames new thoughts,
pulls down the old,
and builds them up again.
It wants and does not want,
and never remains in the same state.
Come, Holy Spirit,
and bring from heaven a ray of your light!
Come, Father of the poor,
giver of gifts,
light of the world,
blessed Comforter,
dear guest of the soul,
and its sweetest refreshment!
Our rest in labor,
our coolness in heat,
our comfort in affliction!
O most blessed Spirit,
fill full the hearts of your faithful people!
Without your influence, there is nothing in us
which is not weakness and guilt.
Oh, cleanse those who are filthy.
Refresh those who are dried up.
Heal those who are wounded.
Bend those who are stubborn.
Cherish in your heart those who are cold.
Guide those who are wandering.
Grant your servants,
who put their trust in you,
the merit of your righteousness.
Give them final salvation.
Grant them eternal joy!
O Lord, hear our prayer,
and let our cry come to you. Amen.
Source: Bernard of Clairvaux, 12th Century
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.
O Holy Spirit, Comforter,
with the Father and the Son
you live as one God.
Descend to our hearts this day,
that while you make intercession for us,
we may call on our Father with full confidence;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Source: Mozarabic Liturgy
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954
![Psalm Prayers from Sarum by [Stratman, Paul]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41GCg3Ap8bL.jpg)
Many of the psalms are prayers. In the history of Christian worship, psalms have also been the inspiration for prayers. In many traditions, after a psalm is sung or read in the service of evening prayer, a short prayer based on the psalm follows. These psalm prayers are taken from the Sarum Psalter, the book used for the Liturgy of Hours in the community of Sarum (Salisbury), England. These ancient prayers reflect on each psalm, sometimes applying the truths of the psalm, sometimes repeating the petition in the psalm, sometimes reflecting on the meaning of the psalm for the individual. This book also includes other prayers and blessings from the Sarum Liturgy of Hours.
Available for Kindle from Amazon.com. These prayers are also included in “God Be in My Head…” Prayers from Old Sarum.
Lord Jesus Christ,
humble, gentle and loving Savior,
help me resist temptations of pride,
help me see the needs of others,
help me to be a servant,
help me to reflect your love,
help me to speak your truth in love,
help me to think beyond the moment,
help me to trust your plan as it unfolded in the past,
help me to trust your plan as it stands in the present,
help me to trust your plan, and to have confidence in what you have in mind for the future,
help me to not be afraid,
help me to not be angry,
help me to not be selfish,
give me confidence in you,
give me the peace of your Spirit,
give me the power to love, serve and give
from the love, service and gifts you have given me.
Lamb of God, you have taken away the sin of the world.
King of kings, you sit at your Father’s right hand, ruling all things.
Mighty God, you rule over all things for the good of your Church.
Tender Savior, you have promised to be with us, with me, always.
Have mercy.
Strengthen my faith.
Grant me peace.
Amen.
Source: 2019 Paul C. Stratman
The New Ancient Collects is available through Amazon for Kindle and in paperback.
For over 150 years, Bright’s Ancient Collects has been a standard resource for classic Christian prayers. The New Ancient Collects is a complete revision and refreshing of all the prayers in Bright’s Ancient Collects with updated language.
Special thanks to Eric M from https://prayerandverse.com/ who proofread the manuscript and made many helpful suggestions.
Click here for paperback or Kindle formats.
Here is an example of the kind of updating that was done:
Almighty and eternal God,
bless us as we celebrate this day’s festival
and direct our eyes heavenward
where in human flesh, your only Son is with you;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Source: Leonine Sacramentary, Ascension, Fifth Century
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Early Church, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1953
Almighty God and heavenly Father,
in your infinite love and goodness towards us,
you have given to us your only and most dearly beloved Son, Jesus Christ,
to be our Redeemer and the Author of eternal life.
After he completed our redemption by his death
and ascended into heaven,
he sent his apostles, prophets,
evangelists, teachers,
and pastors abroad into the world.
By their work and ministry
he gathered together a great flock from all parts of the world,
for the eternal praise of your holy name.
For these great benefits of your eternal goodness
we give our most humble thanks.
We praise and worship you,
and we humbly pray,
by your blessed Son,
grant to all your people everywhere
who call on your holy name,
that we may continue to show ourselves thankful to you
for these and all your other benefits,
and that we may daily increase
and go forward in knowledge and faith
in you and your Son by the Holy Spirit,
so that your holy name may be forever glorified,
and your blessed kingdom enlarged;
through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
now and forever. Amen.
Source: Sarum Rite, eleventh century
Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Middle Ages, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1954.
Shortened version:
Almighty God and heavenly Father, in your infinite love and goodness towards us, you have given us your only and most beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who sent his apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers, and pastors abroad into the world. Grant that all your people everywhere may go forward in knowledge and faith in you and your Son by the Holy Spirit, so that your holy name may be forever glorified and your blessed kingdom enlarged; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Almighty God, the eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. Bless the earthly bounty you have provided now before us. Let these nourish and strengthen our frail bodies, that we may better serve you; through Jesus Christ. Amen. [1]
or thus:
Let your blessing, almighty God, descend on this portion of your bounty, and on us, your unworthy servants; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. [2]
or thus:
Almighty God, pardon our sins, bless the refreshment now before us to our use, and bless us to your service; through Jesus Christ. Amen. [3]
or thus:
Father of lights, every good and perfect gift comes down from you. Enable us to receive these fruits of your bounty with humility and gratitude, and give us grace, that whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, we may do all to your glory, and be accepted through the great Redeemer. Amen. [4]
or thus:
Bounteous God, we acknowledge our dependence on you and our unworthiness of your benefits. Forgive our sins, bless us in the reception of this food, and enable us to improve the strength we may derive from it to your glory, for Christ’s sake. Amen. [5]
or thus:
O Lord, sanctify your gifts to our use, and us to your service, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. [6]
or thus:
We praise you, O God, for covering our table with plenty, and for the present opportunity of partaking of your bounties. Nourish our bodies with these provisions of your hand, and our souls with the bread of life, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. [7]
or thus:
We thank you, heavenly Father, for this portion of your bounty. You daily supply our returning wants, despite our ungratefulness. Help us to be deeply sensible of your goodness and mercy. Bless the provision now before us to our use, forgive our sins, and in the end save us through Christ, our Lord. Amen. [8]
or thus:
Father of mercies, we praise you for permitting us again to sit down and partake of the provisions of your earthly bounty. Feed our souls with the bread of life. Pardon our numerous offenses, and own us at last in heaven for Christ’s sake. Amen. [9]
or thus:
Bountiful giver of all good and perfect gifts, you are never weary of supplying our returning wants. Grant that the food of which we are about to partake may contribute to the comfort and support of our bodies, and enable us to engage with more zeal in your service, we ask for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen. [10]
What shall we return to you, O God, for all your benefits? Every day of our lives we are receiving fresh tokens of your favor. Oh, let your goodness lead us to repentance. And if we can do no more than express our gratitude, help us to do that in the sincerity of our souls, and yours shall be the glory, forever; through Jesus Christ. Amen. [11]
or thus:
Accept, heavenly Father, our humble thanks for this and for all your blessings; through Jesus Christ. Amen. [12]
or thus:
We praise you , O Lord, for the provisions of your providence and grace, and in particular for this renewed token of your favor. May we feel our increased obligations to be your, and be prepared at last to eat bread in your heavenly kingdom; through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. [13]
or thus:
We praise you, O Lord, for this kind refreshment. Continue your favors, and feed us with the bread of life. Supply the wants of the needy; and enable us, while we live on your bounty, to live to your glory; for Christ’s sake. Amen. [14]
or thus:
We praise and magnify your holy name, O Lord, for this and all other blessings bestowed on us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [15]
or thus:
O God, for all your mercies, for the food that supports our bodies and the grace that sustains our souls we bless and praise your holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [16]
Source: Prayers for the use of families… by Albert Barnes, 1850
In traditional English:
Almighty God ! the eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season. Bless, we beseech thee, the provisions of thine earthly bounty, which are now before us; and let them nourish and strengthen our frail bodies, that we may the better serve thee, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
or thus:
Let thy blessing, Almighty God, descend on this portion of thy bounty, and on us, thy unworthy servants, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
or thus:
Almighty God, we beseech thee to pardon our sins, to bless the refreshment now before us to our use, and us to thy service, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
or thus:
Father of lights, from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift, enable us to receive these fruits of thy bounty with humility and gratitude, and give us grace, that whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, we may do all to thy glory, and be accepted
through the great Redeemer. Amen.
or thus:
Bounteous God, we acknowledge our dependence on thee, and our unworthiness of thy benefits. We pray thee to forgive our sins ; to bless us in the reception of this food, and enable us to improve the strength we may derive from it to thy glory, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
or thus:
Sanctify, O Lord, we beseech thee, these thy productions to our use, and us to thy service, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
or thus:
We bless thee, O God, for covering our table with plenty, and for the present opportunity of partaking of thy bounties. Nourish our bodies with these provisions of thy hand, and our souls with the bread of life, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
or thus:
We thank thee, heavenly Father, for this portion of thy bounty. Thou dost daily supply our returning wants, notwithstanding our ungratefulness. Oh help us to be deeply sensible of thy goodness and mercy. Bless the provision now before us to our use, forgive our sins, and in the end save us through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
or thus:
Father of mercies, we praise thee for permitting us again to sit down and partake of the provisions of thine earthly bounty. Do thou feed our souls with the bread of life. Pardon our numerous offenses, and own us at last in heaven for Christ’s sake. Amen.
or thus:
Bountiful giver of all good and perfect gifts! thou art never weary of supplying our returning wants. Grant, we pray thee, that the food of which we are about to partake, may contribute to the comfort and support of our bodies, and enable us to engage with
more zeal in thy service, which we ask, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.
AFTER MEAT.
What shall we render to thee, O God, for all thy benefits? Every day of our lives we are receiving fresh tokens of thy favor. Oh, let thy goodness lead us to repentance. And if we can do no more than express our gratitude, help us to do that in the sincerity of our souls, and thine shall be the glory, forever, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
or thus:
Accept, heavenly Father, our humble thanks for this and for all thy blessings, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
or thus:
We praise thee, O Lord, for the provisions of thy providence and grace, and in particular for this renewed token of thy favor. May we feel our increased obligations to be thine, and be fitted at length to eat bread in thy heavenly kingdom, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
or thus:
We bless thee, O Lord, for this kind refreshment. Be pleased to continue thy favors, and feed us with the bread of life. Supply the wants of the needy; and enable us, while we live on thy bounty, to live to thy glory, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
or thus:
We would praise and magnify thy holy name, O Lord, for this and all other blessings bestowed upon us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
or thus:
O God, for all thy mercies for the food that supports our bodies and the grace that sustains our souls, we bless and praise thy holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A Collection of Prayers 