Comfort, Companionship, and Relief from Pain

O LORD, let Thy glory dwell among us, as here we would commune with Thee. Let us hear Thy voice of love, and let our hearts be filled with joy and peace. Help us to forget the noises of the outer world, and to enter into Thy silence, where is healing for every wound, help for every weakness, consolation for every sorrow.

We pray for the strong, that they may abide in Thee, and in Thee find renewal of their strength; for the weak and the tempted, that Thine arm may work out for them a great salvation; for the disconsolate, that in Thee their griefs may receive a noble consecration; for the bereaved, that they may have a vision of the world beyond, where there is no more death, nor crying, nor mourning, nor pain. Bless the poor, the homeless, the neglected, and the ignorant. Inspire our hearts with Thy love, that we may be friends and companions to all Thy children who need us. Have pity on all who foolishly trust in the false promises of sin, and awaken them from their deluding dreams to timely repentance. Succour all who are fighting against the dominion of evil habits. If they fall, help them to rise again; and put within them a faith and hope that cannot be quenched. Inspire all harassed and struggling souls with the assurance that all the forces of Thy will are working for them, and are moving them on to peace and health and holiness. Visit in Thy compassion those who suffer pain, and who watch with eager longing through the hours of darkness for the morning light. Thou hast strangely fashioned this body of ours. Along its nerves shoots a thrill of agony, and in a moment the world is overcast and there is no joy in the feast, nor comfort anywhere. Assuage the pain, we beseech Thee, or give the strength needed to bear it.

Gracious Father! Be near us, who must pass along the dim and perilous pathway of the years, and support us with Thy presence. Amid danger, sorrow, and disaster, lift up our eyes to Thy high resting-place. Help us to take home to our hearts the joyous inspiration that the untoward things of life enter into thy perfect work and achieve Thy majestic ends. Widen our outlook until our grief or care shall be purged of the least taint of selfishness, and we shall feel ourselves one with the whole creation, which groans and travails, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. All this we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.