Bless yourself with the Holy Cross and say:
In the name of the Father and of the ✛ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life ✛ everlasting. Amen.
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us ✛ from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that you would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the ✛ evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the ✛ evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
Throughout this year of Congregation at Prayer, we will be praying the Psalms in canonical order. Please locate Psalm 119:1–88 in either your hymnal, Bible, or the link above and join in praying this ancient hymn-prayer of the Church. If the Psalm is particularly long, consider splitting it and praying it over multiple days.
Introduction
Our Father who art in heaven. Preschool +
What does this mean? 1st Grade +
With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father.
First Petition
Hallowed be Thy name. Preschool +
What does this mean? 2nd Grade +
God's name is certainly holy in itself, but we pray in this petition that it may be kept holy among us also.
How is God's name kept holy? 3rd Grade +
God's name is kept holy when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. Help us to do this, dear Father in heaven! But anyone who teaches or lives contrary to God's Word profanes the name of God among us. Protect us from this, heavenly Father!
When you were baptized (whether that was a long, long time ago, or relatively recently), the triune name of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—was joined to water, and through it, you were made a child of God.
Whenever God's name is attached to something, that thing is empowered with all the holiness of God: Baptism, Absolution, the Gospel, Holy Communion—the Divine Liturgy as a whole. God's name is holy because it's His name; we can't make it any more or less so.
However, we pray in this petition that God would strengthen us to keep His name holy among us also. That means using rightly the things to which God has attached His name. So when God's Word is taught in its truth and purity, when we hear it gladly and give thanks for His gifts, when we turn away from temptation and live according to God's good and gracious will—these are the ways that we keep God's name holy among us. Likewise, when we daily remember our Baptism, confess our sins and receive the holy Absolution, come regularly to hear the Gospel proclaimed, and receive the Eucharist often, God's name is kept holy among us. We pray in this petition that God in His mercy and grace would help us to do these things.
On the other hand, when we despise those things, God's name is profaned. When the Word of God is taught falsely and when we willingly listen to false doctrine, when we neglect the remembrance of our Baptism and the regular reception of the Means of Grace, when we use the freedom that we have in Christ to lead unholy lives—all of these things are a rejection of the holiness of God and the name He has placed on us in our Baptism. Indeed, they are a rejection of God Himself. We pray in this petition that God would protect us from this and preserve us in the one true faith.
* Deuterocanonical readings linked to NRSVA. All other readings link to NKJV.
Absolve, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy people from their offenses, that from the bonds of our sins, which by reason of our frailty we have brought upon us, we may be delivered by Thy bountiful goodness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Martin Luther, 1483–1546