8th May 2026

When I was in senior school, assembly each day included a prayer from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (High Anglican headmistress). These were mostly in the English of Tudor England and I grew to appreciate some of them.

I was less happy with the one which starts ‘Prevent us, O Lord, in all our doings…’ As a teenager I felt that there were enough people doing this to me without asking God to do so too. Much later I learned that it meant ‘Go before us, O Lord, in all that we do…’ which was more helpful.

The fear of repetition of prayer which we do not understand is one reason for the Baptist emphasis on extempore prayer – praying in our own words, but sometimes it helps to use someone else’s words to sort out our own chaotic thoughts.

I found this prayer a few months ago in the New Zealand Anglican Compline Service. Good for the end of a difficult day.

Lord,
it is night.

The night is for stillness.
Let us be still in the presence of God.

It is night after a long day.
What has been done has been done;
what has not been done has not been done;
let it be.

The night is dark.
Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives
rest in you.

The night is quiet.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,
all dear to us,
and all who have no peace.

The night heralds the dawn.
Let us look expectantly to a new day,
new joys,
new possibilities.

In your name we pray.
Amen.

Margaret Clements