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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 whom
they shall think proper, say as follows, all kneeling. 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. Acknowledgement 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. To thy watchful providence
we owe it,*(that no disturbance hath come nigh us or our dwelling, but that
we are brought in safety to the beginning of this day.) 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. * When
disturbances of any kind befall a family, instead of this, say, not withstanding our dangers, we are brought in safety
to the beginning of this day. 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. Dedication
of soul and body to God’s service with a resolution to be growing daily on
goodness. 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 excited 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; and according to the works done in the body, be eternally
rewarded or punished, by him whom thou hast appointed the Judge of quick and
dead, thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer for
grace to enable us to perform that resolution IN
particular, we implore thy grace and protection for the ensuing day. Keep us
temperate in our meats and drinks, and diligent in our several callings.
Grant us patience under any afflictions thou shalt see fit to lay on us, and
minds always contented with our present condition. 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, *[and prosper the works of our
hands in the business of our several stations.] Defend us from all dangers
and adversities; and be graciously pleased to take us, and all things
belonging to us, under thy fatherly care and protection. These things, and
whatever else thou shalt see necessary and convenient to us, we humbly beg,
through the merits and mediation of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord and
Saviour. Amen. For
grace to guide and keep us the following day, and for God’s blessing on the
business of the same. * On Sunday
morning say this, and let thy Holy Spirit accompany
us to the place of they public worship, making us serious and attentive, and raising
our minds from the thoughts of this world to the consideration of the next,
that we may fervently join in the prayers and praises of thy Church, and
listed to our duty with honest hearts, in order to practice it. 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. |
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EVENING PRAYER. ¶The family, being
together, a little before bed time, let the Master or Mistress, or any other
whom they shall think proper, say as follows, all kneeling. 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
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. 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.* But, 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. * Here let him who reads make a short pause, that every
one may secretly confess the sins and failings of that day. 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. 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 patience
with us, notwithstanding our many and great provocations; for all the directions,
assistances, and comforts of thy Holy Spirit; for thy continual care 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 intercession 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
following day. Make us ever mindful of the time when we shall lie down in the
dust; 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 Jesus Christ, 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. ____________________________________________________________ Lee Chapel, Order of Centurions, based on 1869 BCP |