Thursday, October 07, 2010

Because it's Thursday...



The Thursday prayer from the Treasury of Daily Prayer (page 1308) from the section "Daily Prayer for the Christian" is especially poignant.  It reads as follows:

O Lord Jesus Christ, true King of heaven and earth, You promised to Your Church that the gates of hell would not prevail against her, and You still cause Your Word to be preached and Your Holy Sacraments to be administered among us.  But ah!  O Lord, the sins of Your people obscure the majesty of Your Bride.  Your holy vineyard is trampled and Your blessed sacrifice stands neglected.  Many think themselves strong and despise the life-giving food that You have ordained for Your people, for the forgiveness of their sins.
Pardon all our arrogance and do not come to us in wrath to remove the lamp of Your Word from before our eyes!  O Lord, we pray You: visit this vine, which You once established for Yourself, and renew us with the sun of Your mercy and the water of eternal life.
Give us a great hunger for the food of Your true body and blood, and let all Your faithful people ever be found in the apostles' doctrine, in the fellowship, in the breaking of Your bread, and in the prayers.
We implore You O Lord, for our altar, that it may ever be a place where the medicine of eternal life, the forgiveness of our sins, strengthens us in body and soul; that disbelief and impatience may stay far from all who come there so that they may not eat and drink to their own judgment.
O Eternal High Priest, let the fruit of Your Spirit grow in us, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and chastity.  Cause us to live in holy conduct toward one another to the glory of Your holy name, here in time and hereafter in eternity; for You live and reign with the Father and the same Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

I don't know the source of this prayer.  It doesn't seem to be noted in the Acknowledgments in the Treasury.  The Treasury of Daily Prayer is aptly named, and I highly recommend it especially for those who want not only guidance in prayer, but the fellowship of praying the same prayers and reading the same readings with Christians around the world.

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