11/28/06: A Prayer....

In the spirit of the coming Advent, or as William my Sunday School teacher phrases it, in this "Advent of Advent," a clearing out of our souls seems to be in order. Just as we clean our houses and decorate them beautifully in celebration of these Holy Days, so should we clean our spiritual beings, sweeping sin out of dark corners and putting on the decorations and heart attitudes of kindness, mercy, forgiveness, grace, and love.

This prayer, called The Litany or General Supplication, is from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, starting at page 54.

I'm posting just a portion that may be an encouragement and a prayer for you to our glorious Father in Heaven.
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From all evil and mischief; from sin; from the crafts and assaults of the devil; from thy wrath, and from everlasting ****ation,

Good Lord, deliver us.

From all blindness of heart; from pride, vainglory, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness,

Good Lord, deliver us.

From all inordinate and sinful affections; and from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil,

Good Lord, deliver us....

From all sedition, privy conspiracy, and rebellion; from all false doctrine, heresy, and schism; from hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word and Commandment,

Good Lord, deliver us.

By the mystery of thy holy Incarnation; by thy holy Nativity and Circumcision; by thy Baptism, Fasting, and Temptation,

Good Lord, deliver us.

By thine Agony and Bloody Sweat; by thy Cross and Passion; by thy precious Death and Burial; by thy glorious Resurrection and Ascension; and by the coming of the Holy Ghost,

Good Lord, deliver us.

In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment,

Good Lord, deliver us....

We humbly beseech thee, O Father, mercifully to look upon our infirmities; and, for the glory of thy Name, turn us from all those evils that we most justly have deserved; and grant, that in all our troubles we may put our whole trust and confidence in thy mercy, and evermore serve thee in holiness and pureness of living, to thy honour and glory; through our only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And "Amen" indeed!