My Lord and my Master
Hear me pledge my allegiance:
With my body I serve you
With my understanding
With my heart
With all my worldly goods
With all your heavenly gifts
So I serve you
So I love you alone.
-based on a prayer by Eric Milner-White
Father, grant me the grace of a broken heart.
Allow me to understand the damage my sin does to my relationship to you and to those around me.
Cause me to so deeply regret my unloving, impure actions that I cry and shamefully moan my confession.
I pray that I would so long for righteousness that I would do whatever it takes, sacrifice whatever I have so I can achieve it.
Let me never be so arrogant or insensitive to see my unloving or impure actions as acceptable or understandable or excuseable. Rather, I cry out to you—make me righteous, make me holy or destroy me.
Let your Spirit so infuse me with your faith, love and humility that it become my lifeblood, my driving power, my whole existence.
Crucify my flesh that I might be like your Son in every way.
Lord, help me face the truth about myself.
Help me hear my words as others hear them;
To see my face as others see me;
Let me be honest enough to recognize my impatience and conceit;
Let me recognize my anger and selfishness;
Give me sufficient humility to accept my own weaknesses for what they are.
Give me the grace to say, “I was wrong—forgive me.”
-Frank Topping
Take, Lord, all my liberty. Receive my memory, my understanding, and my whole will. Whatever I have and possess, you have given me; to you I restore it wholly and to your will I surrender it for my direction. Give me the love of you only, with your grace I am rich enough, nor do I ask anything beside.
-Ignatius of Loyola
Father, I desire you alone.
I do not desire you and human love, but you alone.
I do not desire you and material possessions, but you alone.
I do not desire you and earthly security, but you alone.
I do not desire you and entertainments, but you alone.
I do not desire you and status, but you alone.
You are my inheritance, and so I seek you alone.
You are my sufficiency, you are my contentment,
You are my infamy, you are my rest.
I resolve to be filled with nothing but You alone—
For there is satisfaction in no other.
Your kingdom, your righteousness, your will, your glory, your praise, your holiness, your promises, your love—you only do I desire.
Please father, exchange all my desires to be a pure desire for you.
O God, the God of all goodness and of all grace, who is worthy of a greater love than we can either give or understand, fill our hearts, we beseech you, with such love toward you that nothing may seem too hard for us to do or suffer in obedience to your will. And grant that thus loving you we may become daily more like you and finally obtain the crown of life, which you have promised to those that love you through Jesus Christ our Lord.
-Farnham Hostel Manual
We thank you, O Father, for your readiness to hear and forgive, for your great love to us, in spite of our unworthiness; for the many blessings we enjoy above our deserving, hoping or asking. You have been so good to us in our ingratitude, thoughtlessness and forgetfulness of you. For your pity, long-suffering, gentleness and tenderness, we bow our heads in humble thankfulness of heart. We worship you who are infinite love, infinite compassion, infinite power. Accept our praise and gratitude, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Raise up salvation for us
From Jesus Christ our Lord
As you spoke from your holy prophets
Your promises which existed from the foundation of the world—
Deliver us from our Enemy
Save us from the hand of those who hate us
Give us the mercy promised the saints of old.
Remember your holy covenant given to Abraham
That we might serve you without fear
In holiness and righteousness before you
All the days of our lives.
-Based on Luke 1:68-72
O God, mercifully grant unto us that the fire of your love may burn up in us all things that displease you and make us meet for your heavenly kingdom.
-Roman Breviary
O God our Father,
Direct us in every part of our lives;
Our tongues, that we speak no false words;
Our actions, that we may do nothing to harm others;
Our minds, that we may think no evil or bitter thoughts;
Our hearts, that they may be set only on pleasing you
Through Christ our Lord.
Father, without you we are nothing. We are sick, we are weak, we have been afflicted because of our sin. We have no power to heal ourselves, no power to live in your ways, no power to do as you ask.
Father, we want to see you glorified among us. Make your name holy by sending us your Holy Spirit in order that we might do your will.
Father, send us your Spirit, that we might live for you with all of our hearts.
Send us your Spirit that we might be able to live according to the teachings of your Son.
Send us your Spirit that we might live in love, in gentleness, in peace with one another, in kindness, in patience, in humility.
Send us your Spirit to give us your power and spiritual gifts to see us healed.
Father, may your Spirit come on us in power to give us your peace, salvation and righteousness.
Guide us, good Lord, and govern us by the same Spirit, that we may be so united to thee here as not to be divided when you are pleased to call us hence, but may together enter into thy glory, through Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord and Savior.
-John Wesley
Jesus, Son of God, Savior, have mercy on me, a sinner.
-Traditional Orthodox Prayer
Take away from me the frivolous, the vain, the empty. Let me be filled with thoughts and tasks that will last forever. Although I live under the sun, may the result of my life endure to the kingdom of God.
Great are you, O Father, who rains salvation upon us day by day!
Great are you, who in ages past redeemed the slaves who were Israel because they were poor and lowly in your sight. Great are you, who raised David from a man trembling in the wilderness to a great and just king.
Great are you who sent us the Son of David, Jesus your son, to die for us that we may be forgiven of our sins and rebellions to live in You.
Great are you who sent us your Holy Spirit to empower us daily to walk according to your will, although we be destroyed daily. Great are you who grants us daily grace to abide in you and to endure in faith.
Great are you who will come with power and great glory to vanquish the rebellious nations and to deliver us into new bodies and a glorious kingdom forever and ever, amen.
Great are you, Almighty God, there is none like you anywhere—none so holy, none so compassionate, none so righteous. Rightly are you praised above all else.
Set our hearts on fire with love to you, O Christ our God, that in its flame we may love you with all of our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul and with all our strength and our neighbors as ourselves, so that, keeping your commandments, we may glorify you, the giver of all good gifts.
-Eastern Orthodox Church
Worthy of praise from every mouth, of confession from every tongue, of worship from every creature, is thy glorious name, O Father Son and Holy Ghost: who didst create the world in thy grace and by thy compassion didst save the world. To thy majesty, O God, ten thousand times ten thousand bow down and adore, singing and praising without ceasing and saying, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts; Heaven and earth are full of thy praises; Hosanna in the highest.
-Nestorian Liturgy
O God, our true life,
to know you is life
to praise you is the joy and happiness of the soul.
I praise and bless and adore you,
I worship you, I glorify you.
I give thanks to you for your great glory.
I humbly beg you to live with me,
To reign in me
To make this heart of mine a holy temple,
A fit habitation for your divine majesty.
-Augustine
I vow obedience to you because
Your fatherly charity allures me,
Your lovingkindness attracts me.
In observing your will, I tie myself to you
Because clinging to you is loveable above everything.
-Gertrude the Great
“Lead me, Lord
Lead me in thy righteousness
Make thy way plain before my face.
For it is thou, Lord
Thou, Lord only
That makest me dwell in safety.”
-Samuel Wesley based on Psalm 5:8
