General Prayers.

THANKSGIVING.

LORD God, Father of mercies, the Fountain of comfort and blessing,

who fillest heaven with thy glory, and earth with thy goodness: we offer thee most earnest and humble thanks for the gifts of nature and of grace, the support of every moment, and the comforts of every day. We beseech thee to fill our hearts with thy praise; that our thankfulness to thee may be great as are our needs, and that thy grace may so strengthen our purposes that our lives may be a thank-offering to thee, unto whom we ascribe all honor and glory. Amen.

CONFESSION.

OST merciful Father, who knowest the depths of our hearts: we confess unto thee that we continually fall short of that holiness. which thou dost require in thy children; we forget or neglect the duties that we owe to thee and to our fellow-men. Help us to make our penitence for these shortcomings a repentance unto new life. Guide us by thy spirit, and give us strength to overcome the weakness which leads us into sin; that so being made acceptable in thy sight, we may dwell as children in thy presence for evermore. Amen.

FOR LIGHT.

LORD our God, who turnest into morning the shadows of night, grant that we may be children of the light and of the day. Let the sun of thy righteousness shine in our hearts. Enlighten our reason, make clear our conscience, and purify our affections. We give ourselves to thee this day, beseeching thee so to rule and govern us by thy spirit that faithless distrust and all evil thoughts may be driven from our minds; that we may walk with joy in the light of thy countenance and in the way of thy salvation. Amen.

FOR BEST GIFTS.

GOD, who hast taught us how good it is to follow the holy desires which thou hast put into our hearts, and how grievous it is to lose the love of whatever beauty and goodness our minds have once beheld: give us grace, we beseech thee, at all times, to desire and seek the best gifts. Forgive, we pray, the imperfections of the best offering we can make to thee. Kindle thou our sacrifice by the heavenly fire of thine own goodness and love; and may we so truly find thee here in our prayer that we shall never lose thee, but dwell in thy holy presence henceforth, and even for evermore. Amen.

FOR UNITY OF SPIRIT.

THOU, who art the one God and Father of all, who hast breathed thine own spirit into thy children, and made us to be at one with each other as members of thy household, enable us, we beseech thee, to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Amid diversities of knowledge and of faith, may we be made one in spirit, in brotherly affection, and in devotion to thy holy will. Deliver us, we pray thee, from all blindness and prejudice, and whatsoever else would turn our hearts from one another. By the charity of our temper and thoughts may we show forth the power of the gospel of love; and may we live in peace and unity with. all our brethren, as followers of the Prince of Peace.. Amen.

FOR PEACE AND REST.

THOU Unseen, but not unknown, in thee alone can our spirits find true rest and peace; and in thy love is our highest joy. Preserve in our hearts that peace which passeth understanding. In all thy holy discipline of trouble and pain grant us the patience of hope, and the faith that is rooted and grounded in love. In prosperity or adversity may we live as thy children, and ever grow in love to thee, and in devotion to thy will. Amen.

FOR GRACE TO SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE.

GOD, whose kingdom cometh in spirit and in power, and who sendest thy word like the dew that falleth silently upon the earth: grant that all who contend for the faith which thou hast given them may never injure it by clamor and impatience, but, speaking thy precious truth in love, may so present it that men may see in it thy goodness and thy beauty, who art the only true God. Amen.

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FOR WISDOM AND STRENGTH.

LMIGHTY God, of thy great fulness we beseech thee to give to our

need and want, that we who lack wisdom may receive of thee who givest liberally and without upbraiding, and we who lack faith may receive strength and power to do those things that we should do, and be restrained. from doing those things that we should not do. So, reverently loving thee and keeping thy commandments, grant that we may pass through the duties and trials of this life safe into the eternal rest. Amen.

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FOR SPIRITUAL FRUITFULNESS.

LMIGHTY God, we beseech thee that, as the sun doth shine upon this fair world, so thy light may shine upon our spirits, upon our conscience, upon our love; that we may yield unto thee the fruits thou dost delight in, even the fruits of a quiet, peaceable, honorable life; and that we may have good hope of thine eternal presence. Amen.

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FOR TRUST.

RANT unto us, Almighty God, that we, feeling toward thee as children, may trust where we cannot see, and hope where all seems doubtful, ever looking unto thee as our Father that doeth all things well, our Father that ordereth all. Thus, knowing that all things are in thy hands, may we abide thy time, patiently doing the work thou hast given us to do. Mercifully give us peace in the hour of death, and afterward an abundant entrance into the life eternal. Amen.

FOR SINCERITY.

THOU who sayest in our hearts, Before the universe was, I am; of whom all is; from whom naught can be taken, thou God and Father of all help and comfort: give unto us grace, that we may all with one accord earnestly and sincerely seek the truth. Let us not declare with our lips the things which are not in our hearts; neither let us be heedless of the things which our hearts may declare unto us; but encourage within us an abiding trust in thine all-comprehending goodness; that our souls may not hunger and thirst in vain, and we be starved by our own folly in the midst of thine abundance. Amen.

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FOR FAITHFUL SERVICE.

THOU who art the strength of all souls, give us grace to work while

it is day, fulfilling diligently and patiently whatever duty thou appointest us, doing small things in the day of small things, and great labors if thou dost summon us to any; rising and working, sitting still and suffering, according to thy word, as disciples of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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FOR GRACE TO SERVE THE LORD WITH GLADNESS.

LORD, renew our spirits and draw our hearts upon thyself, that our work may not be to us a burden, but a delight; and give us such a mighty love as may sweeten all our obedience. Oh, let us not serve thee with the spirit of bondage as slaves, but with the cheerfulness and gladness of children, delighting ourselves in thee and rejoicing in thy work. Amen.

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FOR ALL WHO ARE IN AFFLICTION.

LMIGHTY and everlasting God, the Comfort of the sad, the Strength of all who suffer, let the prayers of those who cry out of any tribulation come unto thee; and may they rejoice to find that thy mercy is present with them in their afflictions. Let all who are beset by fears, troubled by poverty, worn by illness, all who are wronged and oppressed, the lonely, the suffering, the weary and heavy-laden, be sustained by thy might, consoled by thy tenderness, and cherished by thy fatherly compassion. Amen.

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FOR SHELTER FROM THE STORM.

LMIGHTY God, the Refuge of all that are distressed, grant unto us that in all trouble of this our mortal life we may flee to thy lovingkindness and tender mercy, that so, sheltering ourselves therein, the storms of life may pass over us, and not shake thy peace that is within us. Whatsoever this life may bring us, grant that it may never take from us the full faith that thou art our Father. Grant us thy light, that we may have life abundantly from thee.

Amen.

FOR COMFORT AND REST.

LORD, our God, who art as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land, who beholdest us, thy children, weary of labor, weary of pleasure, weary of hope deferred, weary of self, in thine abundant compassion and unutterable tenderness, bring us, we pray thee, unto thy rest. Amen.

FOR COMMEMORATION.

OST merciful God, we thank thee for all who have walked in thy light, and especially for those near to us and dear, in whose lives we have seen thine excellent glory and beauty. May we know that out of the body as in the body they are with thee, and that, when these earthly days come to an end, it is not that our service of thee and of one another may cease, but that it may begin anew. Make us glad in all who have faithfully lived; make us glad in all who have peacefully died. Lift us into light and love and purity and blessedness; and give us at last our portion with those who have trusted in thee, and sought in all things to do thy holy will. And unto thy blessed name do we ascribe all honor and glory, world without end. Amen.

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FOR COMMEMORATION.

NFINITE Life, Power, Beauty, Eternal Voice speaking in our souls; thine is the wisdom of the saint and seer, thine the light shining on the eyes of holy prophets, and thine the love that answereth and filleth every prayerful spirit. We bless thee for all the holy souls that reveal thee; for all unknown and lowly people whose daily lives are offerings heroic, sweet, and beautiful to thee; and for thy voice that speaketh within. Oh, may we heed thy call, and rise into the liberty and joy of thy faithful. children. Amen.

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A CLOSING PRAYER.

LMIGHTY God, the fountain of all wisdom, who knowest our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: we beseech thee to have compassion upon our infirmities; and those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask, vouchsafe to give us through thine infinite mercy. Amen.