Evening Prayer for Ascension Day

Living and exalted Saviour! Thou hast ascended on high, and in Thy human nature art set down on the right hand of the majesty of God. By Thy Ascension, as well as by Thy Incarnation, Thou hast ennobled my human nature, and acquired for me a title to heaven. For this I laud and praise and thank Thee.

But I beseech Thee, let the purpose of Thy ascension, — that all believers may be forever where Thou art, and be one with Thee as Thou with the Father art One, — be accomplished in me. What joy fills my heart at the thought of this purpose! O let it be fulfilled in me, that my joy may be unending. Let me, O merciful Lord, here in this world already enjoy the blessedness of a true union with Thee. Let me, as a member of Thy body, be inseparably united with Thee, my Head. Let me attain in Thee power and strength and increase unto all good works, and remain united with Thee forever.

To this end, let me be one with Thee and all believers with respect to the blessings which Thou hast acquired for us by Thy sufferings and death: let me share with them in those blessings, and thus obtain peace, forgiveness of sins, righteousness, access to the throne of grace, and the assurance of eternal life.

Let me be one in spirit with Thee and all believers. Let Thy Spirit, and not the world’s spirit, lead me. Let Him enlighten, sanctify, rule and glorify me, and unite me with Thee, even as Thou art united with the Father in one Spirit and Life. Let me be one in love with all believers. Let me love them with all sincerity and constancy, and wish and do to them only such things as I would have them wish and do to me. And since love is the bond of perfectness, in which all those virtues which are becoming to the Christian are embraced, and through which they must be exercised, let my love for them be fervent and steadfast.

As Thou art united with the Father in unspeakable love, so let me be united with Thee and Him. Let me fervently love Thee and Him who hath sent Thee, and consecrate to Thee and to Him my will, my understanding, my desires, and my entire being. If Thou wilt grant me this grace, exalted Lord, then shall I be truly happy both during my journey upon earth and after its completion. If through Thy Spirit I attain to union with Thee, then Thou art mine, and I am Thine; and then I shall always be sure of Thy help, favor, love, and blessing. Then can I ever lean on Thee; I need fear no ill; I can hope for every good thing from Thee. O what blessedness is mine!

Nor shall this blessedness depart from me when I cease to live on earth. On the contrary, it shall reach a higher stage and a greater degree of perfection. For when, resting in the arms in which Thou boldest me constantly as Thine own, I close my eyes and yield up my spirit, Thou wilt transform my soul, and receive it unto Thyself in glory. The Head can not forsake its members. Thou wilt unite me with Thee forever, and let me taste at Thy side joy and rapture and bliss. Thou wilt give me the place which, by Thy death and Thy ascension, Thou hast prepared for me in Thy and my Father’s kingdom, and wilt lead me into the everlasting habitations of peace.

O what blessedness is therefore in store for me, when I shall have become one with Thee, as Thou art one with the Father! What happiness awaits me, when I shall have attained to Thy fellowship! I already rejoice in anticipation of that blessed state. O let my rejoicing not be in vain, but unite me with Thee during this life, so that here on earth I may have a foretaste of heaven, and that there in eternity I may, together with all believers, remain united with Thee and Thy Father and the Holy Spirit forever. Assure me, through Thy Holy Spirit, before I fall asleep, that my prayer has been heard. Let it not have come before Thee in vain; but let me henceforth and forever be and remain one with Thee. Amen.