Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.
A Prayer of St. Chrysostom is a beautiful prayer. It's taken from the Eastern liturgy of St. Chrysostom and was translated into English for use in the Prayer Book by Thomas Cranmer. In other words, this prayer has been around for a while. It's been prayed by the church down through the centuries. Today, it comes at the end of both Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer.
I particularly like the last sentence of the prayer: "Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen." (emphasis mine) I'm quite happy to pray those words. Many times our desires and petitions may not be the best thing for us. We may not recognize that now but it's often true. And so, as the divine office begins to come to a close, those words are very fitting.
I'm glad this prayer remains with us. It's beautifully written and is full of good stuff.
