I’m sure I’ve shared this particular prayer from The Book of Common Prayer before, but it’s worth sharing again. I think it helps us give voice to our broken and yet beautiful humanity in the presence of God. It draws our attention to the available presence of Christ in all dimensions of life. It also reminds us, as our own day draws to a close, that there others, many others, in need of the peace and rest of God in various circumstances. I love how when I can’t generate my own spontaneous words of prayer that prayers such as these are available—that through them I can bring my heart, my life, to the throne of grace.

May the words of this prayer bless and comfort you.

“Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.”

Christian author and Anglican priest Tish Harrison Warren recently released a book on this very prayer called Prayer in the Night. While I haven’t read it, I’ve heard her talk about it on a couple of podcasts. She is quite well regarded as a writer.