Almighty God, Who Hast Given Us Grace
Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee; and dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their requests: Fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth, and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen.
- Purpose
- A closing prayer for a gathered group: it recalls Christ’s promise to those who gather in his name (Matthew 18:20) and asks that their petitions be answered as is best for them.
- How to pray
- Aloud with others if you can, a family at table or a group before it disperses. Pause on “as may be most expedient for them”: the prayer asks for what is good, not for every request as worded.
- When & how long
- At the end of a shared prayer, a meeting, or a family prayer time. About thirty seconds.
- Source & tradition
- A short prayer from the Greek Byzantine liturgy, said before the third antiphon. It is traditionally called the Prayer of Saint Chrysostom, but the Church historian Philip Schaff notes its precise origin is uncertain: it is not in the oldest manuscripts of Chrysostom’s Liturgy, but in those of the Liturgy of Saint Basil. Thomas Cranmer put it into English in 1544 for the Litany of the English Church. Traditional; its link to Saint John Chrysostom is by long tradition, not proven authorship.
- Spiritual fruit
- Confidence in prayer made together, with humility about the outcome. The prayer promises knowledge of God’s truth and eternal life, not that every request will be granted as asked.