extended collect – Page 7 – A Collection of Prayers

Forgive Our Sins

0940_Cranach_nR 001 Almighty, eternal God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Creator of heaven and earth, and man,
together with your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, your word and image,
and with your Holy Spirit, have mercy upon us,
and forgive us our sins for your Son’s sake,
whom you have made our Mediator according to your wonderful counsels,
and guide and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit,
which was poured out upon the Apostles.
Grant that we may truly know and praise you throughout all eternity! Amen.

Source: Philip Melanchthon

Source of this version: https://thekingsdale.wordpress.com/2013/10/28/a-prayer-of-philipp-melanchthon/

Prayers by Philip Melanchthon are included in Prayers from the Evangelical-Lutheran Heritage, available from Amazon.com, and also available for Amazon Kindle. It is a collection of prayers from the history of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church from Luther to Loehe. The collection includes prayers by Johannes Bugenhagen, Georg C. Dieffenbach, Veit Dietrich, Matthias Flacius, Wilhelm Loehe, Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon, Joachim Mynsinger, Johann G. Olearius, Johann Jacob Rambach, and the early agendas and prayer books of the Austrian, Brunswick, Hamburg, Lueneberg, Norwegian, Nuremberg, Pomeranian, Riga, Russian, Saxon, Schleswig-Holstein, and Swedish Evangelical-Lutheran churches.

Preserve Us from Faithless Fears

O most loving Father,
you want us to give thanks for all things,
to dread nothing but losing you,
and to cast all our anxiety on you
because you care for us.
Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties
and grant that no clouds of this mortal life
may hide from us the light of that love
which is immortal,
and which you have shown us
in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

Source: William Bright

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers Ancient and Modern
by Mary Wilder Tileston, Boston, Little Brown, 1914, p. 46 #2

“cast all our anxiety on you” is a reference to 1 Peter 5:7

Guard Our Hearts

Almighty God,
our heavenly Father,
you feed the birds and clothe the flowers,
and you care for us as a father for his children.
Guard our hearts against faithlessness and anxiety.
By your Holy Spirit, help us
to live to the hallowing of your name,
the coming of your kingdom,
and the doing of your will,
so that we may cast all our cares on you
and in unwavering faith, trust in you;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Source: Austria, 1571. Translation by Paul Zeller Strodach for Common Service Book.

“You feed the birds and clothe the flowers” is a reference to Matthew 6:26-28

“To live to the hallowing of your name…” is a reference to Matthew 6:9-13

“cast all our cares on you” is a reference to 1 Peter 5:7

“Faithlessness and anxiety” in the original is “distrust and vain over-carefulness”

This prayer is very similar to a prayer in A Book of Collects in Two Parts by John Wallace Suter, Freedom from Anxious Care:

ALMIGHTY GOD, who dost feed the birds and clothe the flowers, and who carest for us as a father for his children; Graciously guard us, we beseech thee, against distrust and vain over-carefulness, that casting all our care on thee, we may abide in thy love, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord.

Open the Eyes of our Mind

O loving Master,
shine into our hearts
by the pure light of knowing you,
open the eyes of our minds to reflect on your teaching,
and put into us the holy respect of your blessed commandments.
Lead us to set aside all that is worldly
that we may follow a spiritual life,
thinking and doing all things as it pleases you.
For you are our sanctification
and our illumination,
and to you we give all glory,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
now and forever.
Amen.

Source: Eastern Church Liturgy.

Source of this version: Freely modified from Prayers of the Early Church, ed. J. Manning Potts, The Upper Room, Nashville, Tennessee, © 1953 (Public domain in the U.S.), also in Ancient Collects, William Bright, p. 6#1.

This prayer may be the origin of verses from Luther’s hymn, “We now implore God the Holy Ghost”:

Shine in our hearts, O most precious Light,
That we Jesus Christ may know aright,
Clinging to our Savior, whose blood has bought us,
Who again to our homeland has brought us.
Lord, have mercy!

When Two or Three Gather

Almighty God,
you have given us grace at this time
to make our common prayers to you,
and you promise that when two or three
are gathered together in your name
you will grant their requests.
O Lord, fulfill the desires and prayers of your servants,
as you know what is best for us,
granting us in this world knowledge of your truth,
and in the world to come, life everlasting.
Amen.

Source: St. John Chrysostom

“two or three calling your name” is a reference to Matthew 18:20

For those in Affliction

Almighty and eternal God,
you are the comfort of the sorrowful
and the strength of the weak.
Graciously hear the prayers of those
who call out to you in any trouble or distress,
that in all their needs
they may receive your abundant help
and know your immeasurable comfort;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Source: Modified from Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church, Board of Publication of the United Lutheran Church in America, Philadelphia, 1919, p. 223 #62

Destroy the Works of the Devil

wilhelm_loehe

Eternal Lord,
Mighty Son of God,
you came to crush the head of the serpent
and to destroy the works of the devil.
We thank you
for delivering us from the devil
through your Word and holy Baptism,
and for making us temples of your Holy Spirit.
With your almighty arm defend us.
Do not let Satan desecrate your house
or defile your temples,
or have any power over us.
Continue to bless us with your love and defend us,
for you are our unconquerable God and Lord,
praised forever.
Amen.

Source: Wilhelm Löhe. Freely adapted from Seed Grains of Prayer, A Manual for Evangelical Christians, Wartburg Press, Chicago, 1914 (#145)

“Crush the head of the serpent” is a reference to Genesis 3:15

“Temples of your Holy Spirit” is a reference to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

“almighty arm” may be a reference to Psalm 89:13

Help, Enlighten and Guide Us

wilhelm_loehe Lord Jesus Christ,
my Lord and my God,
you know our weakness,
and that we cannot do anything
without your help and support.
When we depend and trust in ourselves
we fall into a thousand errors.
Have mercy on us in our distress.
Help, enlighten and guide us,
that we may see what is truly good,
desire it, and obtain it.
We commend ourselves, body and soul, to you alone.
With the Father and the Holy Spirit,
you are worshiped as one God,
forever and ever.
Amen.

Source: Wilhelm Löhe. Freely adapted from Seed Grains of Prayer, A Manual for Evangelical Christians, Wartburg Press, Chicago, 1914 (#108)

You Sustain Us with Your Fatherly Kindness

wilhelm_loehe Glory to you, O God most holy!
Glory to you, O God most high!
Glory to you, O King of heaven and earth!
You sustain us with your fatherly kindness.
Fill us with joy and gladness in the Holy Spirit,
that we may be blameless in your sight
through Jesus Christ our Lord
on the day when you reward each according to his deeds.
Amen.

Source: Wilhelm Löhe. Freely adapted from Seed Grains of Prayer, A Manual for Evangelical Christians, Wartburg Press, Chicago, 1914 (#26)

Also found in The Lutheran Hymnal, p. 106 #45

The repeated doxologies suggest that Löhe may have obtained this prayer from an Eastern Orthodox source.

An Epiphany Prayer

antifonariodelec3b3n1 The heavens are shining with the clear beauty of the stars, O Lord,
and the earth is made beautiful by your light,
because you came to this world from your holy dwelling place.
Remove all sadness from our hearts,
because you have come to make all things new.
Grant also that as we see your light
we may be purified and prepared to see you forever,
that we who preach to the nations the glad joys of your appearing,
may rejoice with forever.
Amen.

Source: Mozarabic Breviary

Source of this version: Modified freely from http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=964

Also found here: http://www.holyapostlesnyc.org/pulpit-posts/what-are-we-willing-to-offer-to-this-newborn-child-who-is-the-lord-of-the-universe/

Sources read thus:

The heavens are shining with the clear beauty of the stars, O Lord,
and the very earth is made beautiful by a shining light,
because thou didst vouchsafe to appear to the world from out thy holy dwelling place.
Remove, therefore, from our hearts all sadness,
for unto this end art thou come,
that thou mayest make all things new.
Grant also that light unto our eyes which may purify us
and fit us to behold thee for ever;
that thus we who preach to the nations the glad joys of thy Apparition,
may be made glad with thee in infinite joy. Amen.

Graphic: Mozarabic manuscript from the Cathedral of Leon, from Wikimedia Commons.