A prayer meditating and referring to the Divine presence.
A Prayer for the Divine Presence
A devotional prayer designed to cultivate a constant awareness of God's presence as a safeguard against private temptation.
This prayer is especially for use when you are tempted to private sin. O almighty God, infinite and eternal, you fill all things with your presence; you are everywhere by your essence and by your power—in heaven by glory, in holy places by your grace and favor, in the hearts of your servants by your Spirit, in the consciences of all people by your testimony and by your watching of us.1 Teach me to walk always as in your presence, to fear your majesty, to revere your wisdom and omniscience, so that I may never dare to commit any indecency under the eye of my Lord and my Judge; but that I may conduct myself with such care and reverence that my Judge may not be my accuser, but my advocate; and that I, showing my belief in your presence here by careful living, may feel its effects in the sharing of eternal glory; through Jesus Christ.✦✦2 Amen.
Read the original Latin
* This Prayer is especially to be used in temptation to private sin.
O almighty God, infinite and eternal, thou fillest all things with thy presence; thou art everywhere by thy essence and by thy power; in heaven by glory, in holy places by thy grace and favour, in the hearts of thy servants by thy Spirit, in the consciences of all men by thy testimony and observation of us. Teach me to walk always as in thy presence, to fear thy majesty, to reverence thy wisdom and omniscience; that I may never dare to commit any indecency in the eye of my Lord and my Judge; but that I may with so much care and reverence demean myself that my Judge may not be my accuser but my advocate; that I, expressing the belief of thy presence here by careful walking, may feel the effects of it in the participation of eternal glory; through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Scripture echoes
- ↩1John.2.1 — My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One.
- ↩Gen.17.1;Ps.16.8 — When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.' Ps.16.8 — I have set the LORD before me always; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Notes
- 1 ↩Source 'observation of us' means God's active watching/scrutiny of human life, not detached scientific observation; rendered as 'watching of us' to keep that force without archaism.
- 2 ↩Source 'demean myself' uses the older sense 'conduct myself,' not the modern 'belittle myself'; rendered as 'conduct myself' to avoid that false modern reading.
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