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Preparation for Personal Prayer

Holy Spirit, breath of God and fire of love, I cannot pray without your aid: Kindle in me the fire of your love, and illumine me with your light; that with a steadfast will and holy thoughts I may approach the Father in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ my Lord, who reigns with you and the Father in eternal union. Amen.

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Prayer
Prayers

A Prayer of Self-Dedication

Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you; and then use us, we pray, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

BCP 2019, p. 668

Provenance

Temple, 1979 BCP

Draft — AI-assisted research under editorial review.

A short, much-loved prayer asking God to take over the heart, mind, imagination, and will completely, traditionally credited to William Temple, the wartime Archbishop of Canterbury, and carried from the 1979 American prayer book into the ACNA's 2019 Book of Common Prayer.