O Father, my hope,
O Son, my refuge,
O Holy Spirit, my protection.
Holy Trinity, glory to you.
Source: Compline, Eastern Orthodox Church
Tag: Evening Prayers
Canticle: Blessed be God (A Song of God’s Grace)
The canticle Blessed be God (A Song of God’s Grace) is used in the Roman Liturgy of the Hours in Evening Prayer on Mondays.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and blameless before him.
In love he predestined us for adoption to himself
as sons through Jesus Christ,
according to the purpose of his will,
to the praise of his glorious grace,
with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
In him we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of his grace,
which he lavished upon us,
in all wisdom and insight
making known to us the mystery of his will,
according to his purpose,
which he set forth in Christ
as a plan for the fullness of time,
to unite all things in him,
things in heaven and things on earth.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Source: The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, Ephesians 1:3-10
See also http://www.liturgies.net/Liturgies/Catholic/loh/advent/week1mondayep.htm
and https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-worship/worship/texts/daily2/canticles/ntcanticles.aspx#65
Abide with Us
Abide with us, Lord,
for it is toward evening and the day is far spent;
abide with us, and with your whole Church.
Abide with us in the evening of the day,
in the evening of life,
in the evening of the world.
Abide with us in your grace and mercy,
in holy Word and Sacrament,
in your comfort and your blessing.
Abide with us in the night of distress and fear,
in the night of doubt and temptation,
in the night of bitter death,
when these shall overtake us.
Abide with us and with all your faithful ones,
O Lord, in time and in eternity.
Amen.
Source: Georg Christian Dieffenbach (1822-1901)
Part of this prayer is found here: The Oxford Book of Prayer, ed. Appleton, © 1985, 1992
A reflection on Luke 24:29
A version of this prayer is found in Lutheran Worship (LCMS 1982) as an alternative collect for Easter Eve.
Original in German:
Bleibe bei uns, Herr,
denn es will Abend werden,
und der Tag hat sich geneigt.
Bleibe bei uns und bei deiner ganzen Kirche.
Bleibe bei uns am Abend des Tages,
am Abend des Lebens, am Abend der Welt.
Bleibe bei uns mit deiner Gnade und Güte,
mit deinem heiligen Wort und Sakrament,
mit deinem Trost und Segen.
Bleibe bei uns,
wenn über uns kommt
die Nacht der Trübsal und Angst,
die Nacht des Zweifels und der Anfechtung,
die Nacht des bitteren Todes.
Bleibe bei uns und allen deinen Gläubigen
in Zeit und Ewigkeit.
Amen.
Source of the original German prayer: Evangelische Haus-Agende by Georg Christian Dieffenbach, 1853
* Although this prayer is often attributed to The Lutheran Manual of Prayer in many prayer books and anthologies, I have never seen or found a book with that title. A search on http://www.amazon.com and on Google Books yields several Lutheran prayer books, but none with that title.
Litany for the Church
Lord, be merciful to us.
Heal our souls, for we have sinned against you.
Show us your unfailing love, Lord,
and grant us your salvation. (Psalm 85:7)
Turn again, O Lord,
and be gracious to your servants.
May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you. (Psalm 33:22)
Let us pray for the Holy Church of God:
May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. (Psalm 51:18)
May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels. (Psalm 122:7)
May your priests be clothed with your righteousness;
may your faithful people sing for joy. (Psalm 132:9)
Let us pray for our pastors and teachers:
Never take the word of truth from their mouths. (Psalm 119:43)
That they will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of your name, O Lord our God. Amen. (Micah 5:4)
Source: Attributed to Abendgebet of the German Lutheran Church in Book of Prayers for Church and Home, ed. by Paine and Thompson, Philadelphia: Christian Education Press, 1962, p. 57.
Modified with scriptures taken or adapted from the New International Version, 2011.
Guide Us in the Way of Peace
O God, King eternal,
you divide the day from the night
and turn the shadow of death into morning.
Drive away from us all wrong desires,
incline our hearts to keep your law,
and guide our feet into the way of peace,
so that after we have done your will with cheerfulness while it was day,
we may rejoice when night comes and give you thanks;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Source: U. S. Book of Common Prayer 1928
Original in traditional English:
GOD, the King eternal, who dividest the day from the darkness, and turnest the shadow of death into the morning; Drive far off from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep thy law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that having done thy will with cheerfulness while it was day, we may, when the night cometh, rejoice to give thee thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
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
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:
Remind Us of Your Divine Works
God of mercy,
the day is now far spent,
and the night is approaching.
Remind us of your divine works,
that we may be able
to renounce the works of darkness;
for you live and reign
with your Son and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Source: Antiphonary of Bangor, ninth century
Source of this version: Translated and reworked from the Latin text for A Collection of Prayers.
© 2016 Paul C. Stratman
Translation of Prayer “Evolutis nunc diei temporibuss / God of mercy, the day is now far spent,” by Paul C. Stratman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please contact for any commercial usage.
Original in Latin:
33. Ad intium noctis.
Evolutis nunc diei temporibus, nocturnis que spatiis supervenientibus, Dei misericordiam deprecemur, ut suppleti divinis sensibus tenebrarum operibus renuntiare possimus, Qui regnas &c
Our Souls Long for You
As watchmen wait for the morning,
so do our souls long for you, O Christ.
Come with the dawning of the day,
and make yourself known to us in the breaking of bread;
for you are our God for ever and ever.
Amen.
Source: Mozarabic Rite
Source of this version: http://1stholistic.com/Spl_prayers/prayer_mozarabic-morning-prayer.htm
Also found here: https://attentiontothemoment.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/the-mozarabic-sacramentary/
“As watchmen wait for the morning” is a reference to Psalm 130:6
“known in the breaking of bread” is a reference to Luke 24:35
Graphic: Mozarabic manuscript from the Cathedral of Leon, from Wikimedia Commons.
A Collection of Prayers 
