Borrowing Prayers

There is nothing wrong with using prayers already written by other people. In fact there are lots of wonderful resources available. One of the best is the Book of Common Prayer that we use every Sunday in the Episcopal Church. Many of us are familiar with the Sunday liturgies and even with Morning and Evening Prayer. There are lots of other prayers and services between the covers.

Most of the daily prayers can be used by individuals. On page 136 you can find Daily Devotions for families. During Lent you might consider taking on these prayers as a discipline with your family. Something even more simple would be to add praying the Sunday collect each day during your quiet time. Collects (contemporary wording) starts on page 212 and the collects for Lent are on 218. Collects are simply prayers each Sunday that gather together or 'collect' the thoughts of the readings and the season. The collect for this Sunday is:

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be
tempted by Satan; Come quickly to help us who are assaulted
by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of
each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through
Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  

At the end of the Book of Common Prayer you can find some other prayers for many occasions and concerns. They start on page 814. One of my favorites is:

54. For those we Love
Almighty God, we entrust all who are dear to us to thy
never-failing care and love, for this life and the life to come,
knowing that thou art doing for them better things than we
can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
 

You can find the entire Book of Common Prayer at www.bcponline.org. If you want the entire service online check out: http://www.missionstclare.com/english/.