Prayers for Purity

A Prayer for Purity

In this world where inappropriate images and behavior
are all around us, it can be more difficult than ever to remain pure.
But for Your children, God, for those who choose You, there is no other
choice but to live a life of purity.

Help us all to keep the commitments that we have made to You.
Help us to stay pure for that one special person that will one
day be our husband or wife. Give us the strength to remain pure
and let us always remember that the reward for purity will be well worth it.

Amen

Puritan Prayer for Purification

Lord Jesus, I sin. Grant that I may never cease grieving because of it, never be content with myself, never think I can reach a point of perfection.

Kill my envy, command my tongue, trample down self. Give me grace to be holy, kind, gentle, pure, peaceable, to live for Thee and not for self, to copy Thy words, acts, spirit, to be transformed into Thy likeness, to be consecrated wholly to Thee, to live entirely to Thy glory.

Deliver me from attachment to things unclean, from wrong associations, from the predominance of evil passions, from the sugar of sin as well as its gap; that with self-loathing, deep contrition, earnest heart searching I may come to Thee, cast myself on Thee, trust in Thee, cry to Thee, be delivered by Thee.

O God, the Eternal All, help me to know that all things are shadows, but Thou art substance, all things are quicksands, but Thou art mountain, all things are shifting, but Thou art anchor, all things are ignorance, but Thou art wisdom.

If my life is to be a crucible amid burning heat, so be it, but do Thou sit at the furnace mouth to watch the ore that nothing be lost. If I sin wilfully, grievously, tormentedly, in grace take away my mourning and give me music; remove my sackcloth and clothe me with beauty; still my sighs and fill my mouth with song, then give me summer weather as a Christian.

A Gentle Life

Lord, let me find back the lost treasure of time.
Time for gentle listening to a friend, for sharing the play of a child,
for consoling a suffering fellow human being, for thinking without strain,
for labor without pressure.

Time to delight in birds and flowers, blooming trees and lustrous green.
Time to enjoy music, friends, and meals, time to be silent and alone,
time to be quietly at home, time to be present to Your mystery.
Free me from the tyranny of time urgency. Let time not possess me neither
the pressure of daily concerns.

Let me not cram every moment with useful or exciting things to do or say.
Let my life be a gentle preparation for the pure and precious moments of listening
to You so that I may not drown in the rushing waters of practical pursuits.

Amen

The Episcopal Collect: Cleanse Our Hearts

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known,
and from you no secrets are hid;

Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen