Here is the next in our series on favourite prayers. Fr Julian writes on a prayer from Evensong familiar to many Anglicans
Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us
from all perils and dangers of this night;
for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.Amen.
A prayer for the ending of the day,
maybe, a prayer for the twilight –
Lighten our darkness—-
as the night falls, Lord, be our true light.
Keep us from the powers of darkness—-
the perils and dangers of this night.
Shine as a kindly light in our spiritual darkness; in our mental turmoil
and anxious confusion.
This prayer is a final reminder as we go to bed, of God’s love for all of us in Jesus;
—-for the love of thy only Son:
a final reminder that it is God’s Son who is our Saviour.
A final reminder then, as we lay our head upon the pillow that
God, our heavenly Father, in his mercy,
has freely given us all things in Jesus;
meeting all our needs. Praise him.
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