[Recently I have started using again
these forms of prayer in my times of prayer. I thought it would be good to draw
your attention to them. They are from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. MWP]
Forms of Prayer
to be used in Families
MORNING PRAYER.
¶ The Master or
Mistress having called together as many of the Family as can conveniently be
present, let one of them, or any other who may be appointed, say as followeth,
all kneeling, and repeating with him the Lord’s Prayer.
OUR Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy
kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day
our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who
trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.
¶ Here may follow the
Collect for the day.
Acknowledgment of God’s Mercy and Preservation, especially through the
Night past.
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, in whom we live and move and
have our being; We, thy needy creatures, render thee our humble praises, for
thy preservation of us from the beginning of our lives to this day, and
especially for having delivered us from the dangers of the past night. For
these thy mercies, we bless and magnify thy glorious Name; humbly beseeching
thee to accept this our morning sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; for his
sake who lay down in the grave, and rose again for us, thy Son our Saviour
Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dedication of Soul and Body to God’s Service, with a Resolution to be
growing daily in Goodness.
AND since it is of thy mercy, O gracious Father, that
another day is added to our lives; We here dedicate both our souls and our
bodies to thee and thy service, in a sober, righteous, and godly life: in which
resolution, do thou, O merciful God, confirm and strengthen us; that, as we
grow in age, we may grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayer for Grace to enable us to perform that Resolution.
BUT, O God, who knowest the weakness and corruption of our
nature, and the manifold temptations which we daily meet with; We humbly
beseech thee to have compassion on our infirmities, and to give us the constant
assistance of thy Holy Spirit; that we may be effectually restrained from sin,
and incited to our duty. Imprint upon our hearts such a dread of thy judgments,
and such a grateful sense of thy goodness to us, as may make us both afraid and
ashamed to offend thee. And, above all, keep in our minds a lively remembrance
of that great day, in which we must give a strict account of our thoughts,
words, and actions to him whom thou hast appointed the Judge of quick and dead,
thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Grace to guide and keep us the following Day, and for God’s
Blessing on the business of the Same.
IN particular, we implore thy grace and protection for the
ensuing day. Keep us temperate in all things, and diligent in our several
callings. Grant us patience under our afflictions. Give us grace to be just and
upright in all our dealings; quiet and peaceable; full of compassion; and ready
to do good to all men, according to our abilities and opportunities. Direct us
in all our ways. Defend us from all dangers and adversities; and be graciously
pleased to take us, and all who are dear to us, under thy fatherly care and
protection. These things, and whatever else thou shalt see to be necessary and
convenient to us, we humbly beg, through the merits and mediation of thy Son
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen.
THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and
the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.
EVENING PRAYER.
¶ The Family being
together, a little before bedtime, let the Master or Mistress, or any other who
may be appointed, say as followeth, all kneeling, and repeating with him the
Lord's Prayer.
OUR Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy
kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day
our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who
trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.
¶ Here may follow the
Collect for the day.
Confession of Sins, with a Prayer for Contrition and Pardon.
MOST merciful God, who art of purer eyes than to behold
iniquity, and hast promised forgiveness to all those who confess and forsake
their sins; We come before thee in an humble sense of our own unworthiness,
acknowledging our manifold transgressions of thy righteous laws. {* Here let him who reads make a short
pause, that every one may secretly confess the sins and failings of that day.}
But, O gracious Father, who desirest not the death of a sinner, look upon us,
we beseech thee, in mercy, and forgive us all our transgressions. Make us
deeply sensible of the great evil of them; and work in us an hearty contrition;
that we may obtain forgiveness at thy hands, who art ever ready to receive
humble and penitent sinners; for the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ, our only
Saviour and Redeemer. Amen.
Prayer for Grace to reform and grow Better.
AND lest, through our own frailty, or the temptations which
encompass us, we be drawn again into sin, vouchsafe us, we beseech thee, the
direction and assistance of thy Holy Spirit. Reform whatever is amiss in the
temper and disposition of our souls; that no unclean thoughts, unlawful
designs, or inordinate desires, may rest there. Purge our hearts from envy,
hatred, and malice; that we may never suffer the sun to go down upon our wrath;
but may always go to our rest in peace, charity, and good-will, with a
conscience void of offence towards thee, and towards men; that so we may be
preserved pure and blameless, unto the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. Amen.
The Intercession.
AND accept, O Lord, our intercessions for all mankind. Let
the light of thy Gospel shine upon all nations; and may as many as have
received it, live as becomes it. Be gracious unto thy Church; and grant that
every member of the same, in his vocation and ministry, may serve thee
faithfully. Bless all in authority over us; and so rule their hearts and
strengthen their hands, that they may punish wickedness and vice, and maintain
thy true religion and virtue. Send down thy blessings, temporal and spiritual,
upon all our relations, friends, and neighbours. Reward all who have done us
good, and pardon all those who have done or wish us evil, and give them
repentance and better minds. Be merciful to all who are in any trouble; and do
thou, the God of pity, administer to them according to their several
necessities; for his sake who went about doing good, thy Son our Saviour Jesus
Christ. Amen.
The Thanksgiving.
TO our prayers, O Lord, we join our unfeigned thanks for all
thy mercies; for our being, our reason, and all other endowments and faculties
of soul and body; for our health, friends, food, and raiment, and all the other
comforts and conveniences of life. Above all, we adore thy mercy in sending thy
only Son into the world, to redeem us from sin and eternal death, and in giving
us the knowledge and sense of our duty towards thee. We bless thee for thy
pa-tience with us, notwithstanding our many and great provo-cations; for all
the directions, assistances, and comforts of thy Holy Spirit; for thy continual
care and watchful providence over us through the whole course of our lives; and
particularly for the mercies and benefits of the past day; beseeching thee to
continue these thy blessings to us, and to give us grace to show our
thankfulness in a sincere obedience to his laws, through whose merits and
inter-cession we received them all, thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayer for God’s Protection through the Night following.
IN particular, we beseech thee to continue thy gracious
protection to us this night. Defend us from all dangers and mischiefs, and from
the fear of them; that we may enjoy such refreshing sleep as may fit us for the
duties of the coming day. And grant us grace always to live in such a state
that we may never be afraid to die; so that, living and dying, we may be thine,
through the merits and satisfaction of thy Son Christ Jesus, in whose Name we
offer up these our imperfect prayers. Amen.
THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and
the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.
¶ On Sundays, and on
other days when it may be convenient, it will be proper to begin with a
Chapter, or part of a Chapter, from the New Testament.
{For shorter forms of morning and evening prayer, along with
supplemental prayers, see here: http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1928/Family_Prayer.htm}
