augustine – Page 3 – A Collection of Prayers

For Mercy

Come, O Lord,
with much mercy down into my soul,
and take possession and dwell there.
A lowly dwelling, I confess,
for so glorious a Majesty,
but you yourself are preparing it to receive you
by the holy and fervent desires you inspire.
Enter then, and adorn,
and make it what you would inhabit,
since it is the work of your hands.
Give me your own self,
for without you,
even though you should give me all that you have ever made,
my desires could not be satisfied.
Let my soul always seek you,
and let me persist in seeking,
until I have found you,
and am in full possession of you. Amen.

Source: Augustine of Hippo

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Early Church, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1953

For Perseverance

I know, O Lord,
and with all humility acknowledge myself
altogether unworthy of your love.
But I am sure you are altogether worthy of mine.
I am not good enough to serve you,
but you have a right to the best service I can pay.
Impart to me some of that excellence,
that will supply my own lack of worth.
Help me to cease from sin against your will,
that I may render you service according to my duty.
Enable me so to guard and govern myself,
to begin and finish my course,
that when the race of life is run,
I may sleep in peace and rest in you.
Be with me to the end,
that my sleep may be rest indeed,
my rest perfect security,
and that security, a blessed eternity. Amen.

Source: Augustine of Hippo

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Early Church, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1953

Adoration

O good and omnipotent God,
you care for every one of us,
as if you cared for each alone,
and you care for all as if all were one!
Blessed is the one who loves you,
and who loves his friend in you,
and who loves his enemy for you.
For with you, we lose none dear to us,
to whom all are dear.
You, our God,
who made heaven and earth and fill them,
and by filling them you create them.
Your law is truth, and truth is yourself.
I see the things of this earth pass away,
and I see other things take their place,
but you remain forever.
Therefore, my God and Father,
to you I entrust all I have received from you,
for then, I can lose nothing.
You, O Lord,
have made me for yourself,
and my heart can find no rest
until it rests in you.
Amen.

Source: Augustine of Hippo, Fourth Century

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Early Church, edited by J. Manning Potts, 1953

For Light

O Lord,
you are the Light,
the Way, the Truth, the Life.
In you there is no darkness,
error, vanity, or death—
the Light without which there is darkness,
the Way without which there is wandering,
the Truth without which there is error,
the life without which there is Death.
Lord, say, “Let there be Light,”
and I will see Light and renounce the darkness.
I will see the Way and avoid wandering.
I will see the Truth and shun error.
I will see Life and escape death.
Enlighten, O enlighten my blind soul
which sits in darkness and the shadow of Death,
and direct my feet into the way of peace. Amen.

Source: St. Augustine of Hippo, d. 430

A Prayer of St. Augustine

220px-sandro_botticelli_050 Lord, when I look on my own life it seems
you have led me so carefully, so tenderly,
that you have attended to no one else;
but when I see how wonderfully
you have led the world and are still leading it,
I am amazed that
you have time to attend to such as I.

Source: Augustine of Hippo, 354-430, possibly from his Confessions.

Awaken Us from the Grave of our Sins

christ-898330_640 Merciful, holy and faithful Lord Jesus Christ,
you died for our sins
and were raised for our justification,
in view of your resurrection,
we ask that you would awaken us also
from the grave of our sins and iniquities,
and grant us your grace
that we may partake
in your resurrection
at the final resurrection of all the dead.

Source: Attributed to St. Augustine, 354-430, in Allgemeines evangelisches Gesang- und Gebetbuch zum Kirchen und Hausgebrauch, Hamburg, 1846, p. 818#57

Du gütiger, frommer und getreuer Herr Jesu Christ, der du unserer Sünden halben gestorben bist und unserer Gerechtigkeit wegen bist wieder auferstanden: ich bitte dich durch deine heilige Auferstehung, daß du mich auch wollest erwecken aus dem Grabe der Sünden und Missethat, und mir deine Gnade verleihen, daß ich in der Auferstehung der Todten auch deiner Auferstehung möge theilhaftig werden. Amen.

Failures, Successes, Healing

220px-sandro_botticelli_050 Lord, I commit my failures
as well as my successes
into your hands,
and I bring for your healing
the people and the situations,
the wrongs and the hurts of the past.

Give me courage, strength and generosity
to let go and move on,
leaving the past behind me,
and living the present to the full.

Lead me always to be positive
as I ‘entrust the past to your mercy,
the present to your love,
and the future to your providence’.

Source: Attributed to St. Augustine of Hippo, 354-430

Source of this version: http://thedailyprayerblog.blogspot.com/2015/03/a-prayer-to-let-go-and-move-on.html

Our High Priest and Shepherd

We thank you with our whole heart,
O beloved Father,
for the precious blood of your dear Son,
which he shed for our sake,
and by which you daily cleanse, quicken, and sanctify us
in your holy Church,
and make us partakers of your divine nature.
We thank you for the great and unspeakable love,
though we were not worthy of it,
when you redeemed us by your own Son,
who is our High priest and Mediator,
the true Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep of his flock,
who now sits on your right hand
and intercedes for us.
O good and faithful God, Friend of all mankind,
give us your grace and your great compassion,
that we may praise you with your Son and the Holy Spirit
in every act of our lives evermore.
Amen.

Source: Unknown, attributed to St. Augustine (d. 430)

“make us partakers of your divine nature” is a reference to 2 Peter 1:4

Prayer for the Lord’s Day

Almighty Father,
dwell among us today
and fill us with yourself.
Say to each one of us,
“I am your salvation.”
Speak to us so that we cannot fail to hear.
Show yourself to us,
and show us how badly we need you.
Uphold your servants
who proclaim your Word in your temple
and lead the worship of your people.
Touch the hearts of the hearers
that they may receive and serve you.
Hear us, O heavenly Father,
for the sake of your only Son.
Amen.

Source: attributed to Augustine of Hippo, d. 430

Source of this version: Freely modified The Hymnal and Order of Service, The Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod, 1925, p. 679 #3

Prayer and Motto of St. Augustine

220px-sandro_botticelli_050 You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised.
Great is your power, and infinite is your wisdom.
You are worthy of our praise,
though we are but a speck in your creation.
We wear our mortality,
the witness of our sin,
the evidence that you resist the proud.
Yet you are worthy of our praise.
You awaken our hearts to delight in your praise.
You made us for yourself,
and our heart is restless until it rests in you.

Source: St. Augustine of Hippo, 354-430, Confessions, Book I, Chapter 1

Freely modified from http://biblehub.com/library/augustine/the_confessions_of_saint_augustine/chapter_i_great_art_thou.htm

Note: Many published prayers attributed to Augustine contain some form of the words “our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”