Early Christian Prayers
These are examples of my favourite prayers handed down to us from the
first centuries of the Christian Church.
There's a lot to be said from studying early prayers such as these as they provide a continuous link of worship between the early Christians of the first few centuries after the Crucifixion to ourselves. Their content and pattern provide a useful template for the writing of modern prayers:
Look upon us, O Lord,
and let all the darkness of our souls
vanish before the beams of thy brightness.
Fill us with holy love,
and open to us the treasures of thy wisdom.
All our desire is known unto thee,
therefore perfect what thou hast begun,
and what thy Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer.
We seek thy face,
turn thy face unto us and show us thy glory.
Then shall our longing be satisfied,
and our peace shall be perfect.
(Augustine, 354 - 430)
We beseech thee, Master, to be our helper and protector.
Save the afflicted among us; have mercy on the lowly;
raise up the fallen; appear to the needy; heal the ungodly;
restore the wanderers of thy people;
feed the hungry; ransom our prisoners;
raise up the sick; comfort the faint-hearted.
(Clement of Rome, 1st Century)
O Lord, who hast mercy upon all, take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me the fire of thy Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore thee,
a heart to delight in thee,
to follow and to enjoy thee,
for Christ's sake.
(Ambrose of Milan, c 339-97)
Deep peace of the running wave to you,
Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
Deep peace of the shining stars to you,
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you, for ever.
(Source unknown - early Scottish)
O good shepherd, seek me out, and bring me home to thy fold again.
Deal favourably with me according to thy good pleasure,
till I may dwell in thy house all the days of my life,
and praise thee for ever and ever with them that are there.
(Jerome, c 342 - 420)
Alone with none but thee, my God,
I journey on my way.
What need I fear, when thou art near O king of night and day?
More safe am I within thy hand
Than if a host did round me stand.
(Columba, c.521 - 97)
Lord, thou hast given us thy Word for a light to shine upon our path;
grant us so to meditate on that Word, and to follow its teaching,
that we may find in it the light that shines more and more until the perfect
day;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Jerome, c 342 - 420)
May God the Father bless us;
may Christ take care of us;
the Holy Ghost enlighten us all the days of our life.
The Lord be our defender and keeper of body and soul,
both now and for ever, to the ages of ages.
(Æthelwold c 908-984)
Our God, God of all men
God of heaven and earth, seas and rivers,
God of sun and moon, of all the stars,
God of high mountain and lowly valley,
God over heaven, and in heaven, and under heaven.
He has a dwelling in heaven and earth and sea
and in all things that are in them.
He inspires all things, he quickens all things.
He is over all things, he supports all things.
He makes the light of the sun to shine,
He surrounds the moon and the stars,
He has made wells in the arid earth,
Placed dry islands in the sea.
He has a Son co-eternal with himself...
And the Holy Spirit breathes in them;
Not separate are the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
(Patrick c389-461)
Lord, becsue you have made me, I owe you the whole of my love; because
you have redeemed me, I owe you the whole of myself; because you have
promised so much, I owe you my whole being. Moreover, I owe you as much
more love than myself as you are greater than I, for whom you gave yourself
and to whom you promised yourself. I pray you, Lord, make me taste by
love what I taste by knowledge; let me know by love what I know by understanding.
I owe you more than my whole self, but I have no more, and by myself I
cannot render the whole of it to you. Draw me to you, Lord, in the fullness
of your love. I am wholly yours by creation; make me all yours, too, in
love.
(Anselm 1033-1109)
O Soverign and almighty Lord, bless all thy people, and all thy flock.
Give thy peace, thy help, thy love unto us thy servants, the sheep of
thy fold, that we may be united in the bond of peace and love, one body
and one spirit, in one hope of our calling, in thy divine and boundless
love.
(Liturgy of St Mark, 2nd century
Lord, be with us this day,
Within us to pruify us;
Above us to draw us up;
Beneath us to sustain us;
Before us to lead us;
Behind us to restrain us;
Around us to protect us.
(Patrick c389-461)
I rise today
Through the strength of heaven -
Light of sun,
Radience of moon,
Splendour of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.
(source unknown, early Scottish)
