Common Prayers

COMPLINE

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend the sick, Lord Christ;
Give rest to the weary;
Bless the dying;
Soothe the suffering;
Pity the afflicted;
Shield the joyous;
And all for your love's sake. Amen.
 

O God, your unfailing providence sustains the world we live in and the life we live:
Watch over those, both night and day, who work while others sleep.
Grant that we may never forget that our common life depends upon each other's toil;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Book of Common Prayer, page 134


Prayers for Use by a Sick Person
 
In the morning

This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, O Lord, for whatever it may be.
If I am to stand, help me to stand bravely.
If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly.
If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently.
If I am to do nothing, help me to do it gallantly.
Make these words more than words, and give me the spirit of Jesus. Amen.

 
For Sleep
 
O heavenly Father, you give your children sleep for the refreshing of soul and body;
Grant me this gift, I pray; keep me in that perfect peace which you have promised to those whose minds are fixed on you;
And give me such a sense of your presence, that in the hours of silence I may enjoy the blessed assurance of your love;
Through Jesus Christ our savior, Amen.
Book of Common Prayer, page 461


For the Sanctification of Illness

Sanctify, O Lord, the sickness of your servant, that the sense of his weakness may add strength to his faith and seriousness to his repentance;
And grant that he may live with you in everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
Book of Common Prayer, page 460


Ministration to the Sick: A Collect for Doctors and Nurses
 
Sanctify, O Lord, those whom you have called to the study and practice of the arts of healing, and to the prevention of disease and pain.
Strengthen them by your life-giving spirit, that by their ministries the health of the community may be promoted and your creation glorified; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Book of Common Prayer, 460

A COLLECT FOR THE AGED
 
Look with mercy, O God our Father, on all whose increasing years bring them weakness, distress, or isolation.
Provide for them homes of dignity and peace; give them understanding helpers, and the willingness to accept help;
And, as their strength diminishes, increase their faith and their assurance of your love.
This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 830