Saturday, April 23, 2016

To You All Hearts Are Open

This is a prayer prayed at the beginning of the worship service (Rite II) in the Anglican church. It is a good introductory prayer to begin personal heart preparation for Sunday.


Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known,
and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may  perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.


And here is the prayer of confession coming later in the worship service. I have found it to be a good prayer to use as a prompt for individual confession and as a "just-before bed prayer."

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. 
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. 
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

-- One source for these and more prayers, if you don't have a Book of Common Prayer, is the online Book of Common Prayer: www.bcponline.org

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