Prayers for Illumination on Seeking God

O Lord our God,

grant us grace to desire you with our whole heart,

that so desiring we may seek and find you;

and so finding you we may love you;

and loving you we may hate those sins

from which you have redeemed us;

for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Anselm of Canterbury, Found in Ed J. Manning Potts, Prayers of the Middle Ages, 1954.

Ask, Seek, Knock

May we ask according to your will,

not according to our desires,

for you will give us what is right for us.

May we seek you as the pearl of great price,

not half-heartedly but with our whole being,

for you are always  present, ready to be found.

May we knock on the door of heaven,

not fearfully, but as inheritors of your kingdom,

for your ears are ever open to the cries of your children.

Jenny Child, Celtic Prayers & Reflections, the Columba Press, 2008.

Give us, O Lord, steadfast hearts, which no unworthy thought can drag downward, unconquered hearts, which no tribulation can wear out, upright hearts, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

We hear you knocking, O God, as you stand outside the locked doors of our hearts, waiting and wanting to enter. Help us to throw open those doors, that in this time of worship you may come in as a living presence and we may offer to you our praise and thanksgiving. Amen.

Taken from John E. Skoglund and Nancy E. Hall, A New Manual of Worship: New Edition, Judson Press, 1993.