We give you thanks, almighty God, for the bread we need for the body, and we ask you to give us food for the soul, Jesus Christ, the living bread that came down from heaven, for by eating this bread we will live forever. Strengthen us to endure the troubles and burdens of this life and open our eyes of faith to look forward to eternal life in heaven. Give us a childlike faith to trust even though we do not see, and to follow your path through this world. Give us your peace that surpasses all understanding, that little things in life lose their power to vex us, even in many troubles. Hear us in your loving-kindness and tender mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Source: Adapted from George Dawson (1821–1876), revised from Prayers Ancient and Modern.
Almighty God, there are pleasures at your right hand forever. Fill our faith with your joy and brightness. Drive from our minds all doubt, gloom and despair, and fill us with joy to live as your redeemed and forgiven children. Fill our lips with your praises and our hearts with joy as we wait for the life that knows no ending; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Source unknown, revised from Prayers Ancient and Modern.
Our Father, in your presence is perfect joy. Make us happy every hour of the day in the joy of your presence; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Source: Mary Wilder Tileston (1843-1934), revised from Prayers Ancient and Modern.
Prayers Ancient Made Modern (Annotated) is now available through Amazon.com.
This collection of prayers for daily use has been gathered from many sources, ancient and modern. It has historical interest, and the literary quality has been carefully considered, but the primary object is to nourish the spiritual life. As the design is to provide a brief selection for every day, in many cases a portion only of a long prayer is given, or it is condensed by omission, but alterations have been made as sparingly as possible. Fourteen centuries of prayer, aspiration, and praise unite here in one harmony of devotion.
Mary Wilder Tileston, from the Preface to Prayers Ancient and Modern
The book Prayers Ancient and Modern was also published under the title Great Souls at Prayer. Mary Wilder Tileston made a revised edition in 1928 in which she removed about a quarter of the prayers from the 1897 edition and added newer prayers. This revision is based on the 1897 edition to give preference to ancient prayers.
All the prayers in this edition have been modified, some more freely than others. Most I revised in such a way that they remain direct quotes of the originals.
In all the revision and overhauling, I tried to keep some of the language and spirit of the originals. Prayers Ancient and Modern is available and downloadable from Google Books and from Archive.org if readers wish to compare this book with the original.
In this annotated edition, a short biography or explanation of the source is given the first time that author or source appears in this book. If no annotation of author or source is given for a prayer, consult the Index of Authors. Biographies and explanations are condensed from Wikipedia, archive.org, and other sources.
Prayers Ancient Made Modern (Annotated) now has no substituted prayers. Every prayer from the 1897 edition of Prayers Ancient and Modern is now reproduced in modern English.
Lord God, grant that we may enjoy health of mind and body, deliver us from our present sadness, and finally bring us to the joy of your eternal gladness; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Source: Roman Breviary, revised from Prayers Ancient and Modern.
Almighty God, send us your good Spirit, that we flee to your loving arms as children, filled with trust, hope, and faith. In dark times draw us to you, that we trust you when we cannot see, and we hope in you when all seems doubtful. You are our Father who does all things well, and you order all things. Knowing that all things are in your hands, we await your time. Amen.
Source: George Dawson (1821–1876), revised from Prayers Ancient and Modern.
It has been an active year with revisions of some publications and some new publications in development. Also, ACOP’s materials are being used in an expanding circle.
New covers with a unified design were prepared for Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church, The Antiphonary of Bangor, The New Ancient Collects. In time, the other parchment covered books will have the redesigned covers.
Some minor corrections were made to Prayers Ancient Made Modern, which is my number two seller, second only to Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church.
The chief views continue to be from English speaking countries (U.S., U. K., Canada and Australia), but there is growing usage from the Philippines, Jordan, India, Singapore, China, South Africa, and Indonesia!
Links to A Collection of Prayers
WordPress lets me see referrers, that is, other websites that have a link to A Collection of Prayers. After search engines, the biggest referrers are a liturgy website www.liturgies.net, the Christian spirituality website www.christianity.com, followed by individual ministries, churches, and even some denominational websites.
Wartburg Watch often used prayers from A Collection of Prayers in their online worship blog. After Easter, Wartburg Watch discontinued their online worship blog since many churches offer online options.
As mentioned above, some books got new covers with a more uniform style. Prayers Ancient Made Modern received some minor corrections.
My publications have taken a more historic turn:
This year I released a translation of Summary of Christian Teaching for Young People by Veit Dietrich. The Summary… was a significant book in Lutheran history, since it was mentioned in agendas and other works since the time of the Reformation. Strangely, I could find only the first printing. Summary… is well known for the collects that accompany each Sunday’s devotional commentary. They were widely used in Scandinavian churches, and are printed in Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary (1996). To my knowledge, this is the first complete translation of the Summary into English.
The translation of another historic book is in development, The Pomeranian Church Order and Agenda is in the final stages of proofreading. As the word Agenda implies, it was a book for leading worship. It was also a book of church law for the duchy of Pomerania, which set very high standards for churches, pastors, and other church workers. I anticipate a late August 2026 release.
As always, the sale of books pays for the website and supports research.
Beyond This Website, Books and Products
The Commission on Worship of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod used psalm prayers from two of my books (Sarum and Mozarabic) for a worship conference that focused on psalms. These reproducible sheets may also be available in book form in the future. I will put up a link if and when this appears in book form.
Crossway Publishers has released their Sing! hymnal in September 2025, and they used nine prayers from my books as filler for some white spaces in their book.
The prayer anthology from Eerdmans, Prayers from the Cloud, includes my translation of the Lorica of St. Fursey.
Other devotional publishers have also contacted me about using A Collection of Prayers and some of my books as a source. Congregations of many denominations and individuals have contacted me for permission to use prayers from the website or from my books in works for public or private devotions. I am always happy to share my work–which is what A Collection of Prayers is all about.
Again, I haven’t posted many new prayers in the last year. It has been an active year with publications and with ACOP’s materials being used in an expanding circle.
Because Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei were some of last year’s top hits, I wrote a series on the Western Rite. That series will be the basis of a chapter on the Western Rite in an upcoming book on worship and faith formation.
The chief views continue to be from English speaking countries (U.S., U. K., Canada and Australia), but there is growing usage from the Philippines, India and South Africa.
Links to A Collection of Prayers
WordPress lets me see referrers, that is, other websites that have a link to A Collection of Prayers. The biggest referrers are the Christian spirituality website www.christianity.com and a liturgy website www.liturgies.net, followed by individual ministries, churches, and even some denominational websites.
The past year was more quiet on A Collection of Prayers because of commitments in my work.
In 2024 I published Prayers Ancient Made Modern through Lulu, and also made it available for free in PDF, Word and ePub formats. Because of public domain content, to publish it through Amazon, I had to make it an annotated edition. Footnotes with short biographies of the authors appear the first time that author’s prayers appear in the book. Also, all prayers from Prayers Ancient and Modern have been revised or reworked. This book is getting closer to being my best seller, sometimes equaling the sales of Prayers from the Ancient Celtic Church.
The Commission on Worship of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod used psalm prayers from two of my books (Sarum and Mozarabic) for a worship conference that focused on psalms. These reproducible sheets may also be available in book form in the future.
Crossway Publishers is about to release their Sing! hymnal in September 2025, and they are using nine prayers from my books as filler for some white spaces in their book.
An Episcopal monastic movement, anamcharafellowship.net, contacted me about using prayers from my Celtic and Sarum books in their breviary (private publication) as part of their daily devotions and liturgy of hours.
I’ve also been contacted by Eerdmans about an upcoming prayer anthology, Prayers from the Cloud, that will also include my translation of the Lorica of St. Fursey.
Other devotional publishers have also contacted me about using A Collection of Prayers and some of my books as a source. Congregations of many denominations and individuals have contacted me for permission to use prayers from the website or from my books in works for public or private devotions. I am always happy to share my work–which is what A Collection of Prayers is all about.
Gracious God and Father, watch over all your people, those who struggle with doubts, those who struggle with the labors of life, those who sometimes struggle as they seek you. Calm our hearts with your Word, and with your dear Son’s promise, “I will give you rest.” Pour out your abundant blessings on us, give us the assurance of your love in Jesus Christ. Give us confidence as we face the challenges ahead. Give us health of body and spirit, and blessings in all things; through your Son who gave himself for us so that we could be his, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Source: Paul C. Stratman, April 27, 2024, from an online request.
Us / we may be substituted with a name or names, him / her or they / them.
Lord God, heavenly Father, in your special love and mercy you gave us your Son who became truly human and died on the cross for us. Pour your Holy Spirit into our hearts that we may put all our trust in him, just as the Centurion believed that Christ would help his sick servant, may we be assured of the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life. We have your Word: “Whoever believes in me will never see death.” Dear Father in heaven, grant that we may believe with no doubts in our hearts, and remain in the faith until our last hour.
Almighty and eternal God, mercifully look on our weaknesses, and in all dangers and needs defend us with your power against our enemies; through Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever.
O God,
Father of your only Son,
you dwell in heaven
and you scoff at those
who rise against your Anointed One.
Grant us special grace
that we may not yield to adversities,
that the unbelief of those who do not know you
may be done away with,
and the faith of those who cling to you
may be crowned.
Source: Mozarabic Rite, 7th Century
Source of this version: Oremus, edited by Paul Zeller Strodach
Merciful Lord,
Comforter and Teacher of your faithful people,
increase in your Church the desires you have given.
Strengthen the hearts of those who hope in you,
and show them the depth of your promises.
Lead all your adopted children to see with the eyes of faith,
and help them wait patiently for the light that is now hidden;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
