First Century Prayers

For All Kings and Rulers

Grant unto all Kings and Rulers, O Lord, health, peace, concord, and stability, that they may administer the government which You have given them without failure. For You, O heavenly Master, King of the Ages, gives to the sons of men glory and honor, and power over all things that are upon the earth. Do, Lord, direct their counsel according to that which is good and well pleasing in Your sight, that administering in peace and gentleness, with godliness, the power which You have given them, they may obtain Your favor. O You Who alone are able to do these things, and things far more exceeding good than these, for us, we praise You, through the High Priest and Guardian of our souls, Jesus Christ; through Whom be the glory and the majesty, unto You, both now and for all generations, and forever and ever. AMEN.

-- Clement of Rome


A Morning Prayer

O God, Who are the unsearchable abyss of peace, the ineffable sea of love, the fountain of blessings, and the bestower of affection, Who sends peace to those that receive it; open to us this day the sea of Your love, and water us with the plenteous streams from the riches of Your grace. Make us children of quietness, and heirs of peace. Kindle in us the fire of Your love; sow in us Your fear; strengthen our weakness by Your power; bind us closely to You and to each other in one firm bond of unity; for the sakd of Jesus Christ. AMEN.

--Syrian Clementine Liturgy

For Rulers and Governors

To our rulers and governors on the earth - to them You, Lord, gave the power of the kingdom by Your glorious and ineffable might, to the end that we may know the glory and honor given to them by You and be subject to them, in nought resisting Your will; to them, Lord, give health, peace, concord, stability, that they may exercise the authority given to them without offense. For You, O heavenly Lord and King eternal, gives to the sons of men glory and honor and power over the things that are on the earth; may You, Lord, direct their counsel according to that which is good and well-pleasing in Your sight, that, devoutly in peace and meekness exercising the power given them by You, they may find You propitious, O You, who only has power to do these things and more abundant good with us, we paraise You through the High Priest and Guardian of our souls Jesus Christ, through who m be glory and majesty to You both now and from generation to generation and forevermore. AMEN.

- Clement of Rome


For Blessings

May God, who sees all things, and who is the Ruler of all spirits and the Lord of all flesh - who chose our Lord Jesus Christ and us through Him to be a peculiar people - grant to every soul that calls upon His glorious and holy Name, faith, peace, patience, long-suffering, self-control, purity, and sobriety, to the well-pleasing of His Name, through our High Priest and Protector, Jesus Christ, by whom be to Him glory, and majesty, and power, and honor, both now and forevermore. AMEN.

- Clement of Rome

For Forgiveness

You did make to appear the enduring fabric of the world by the works of Your hand; You, Lord, did create the earth on which we dwell, - You, who are faithful in all generations, just in judgments, wonderful in strength and majesty, with wisdom creating and with understanding fixing the things which were made, who are good among them that are being saved and faithful among them whose trust is in You; O merciful and Compassionate One, forgive us our iniquities and offenses and transgressions and trespasses. Reckon not every sin of Your servants and handmaids, but You will purify us with the purification of Your truth; and direct our steps that we may walk in holiness of heart and do what is good and well-pleasing in Your sight and in the sight of our rulers. Yes, Lord, make Your face to shine upon us for good in peace, that we may be shielded by Your mighty hand and delivered from every sin by Your uplifted arm. and deliver us from those who hate us wrongfully. Give concord and peace to us and all who dewll upon the earth, even as You gave to our fathers, when they called upon You in faith and truth, submissive as we are to Your almighty and all-excellent Name. AMEN

- Clement of Rome


Prayer Before Partaking of the Holy Sacrament

O God, who are great, great in name and counsel, powerful in Your works, the God and Father of Your Holy Son Jesus, our Savior, look upon us, Your flock, which You have chosen through Him to the glory of Your Name; Sanctify us in body and soul, and grant that we, being purified from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, may partake of the mystic blessings now going before You, and Judge none of us unworthy of the, but be our Supporter, our Helper, and Defender, through Your Christ, with whom glory, honor, laud, praise, thanksgiving be to You and the Holy Spirit forever. AMEN

- The Clementine Liturgy


A Pure Heart

O God Almighty, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Your only begotten Son, give me a body unstained, a pure heart, a watchful mind, and an upright understanding, and the presence of Your Holy Spirit, that I may obtain and ever hold fast to an unshaken faith in Your Truth, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord; through whom be glory to You in the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. AMEN.

- The Clementine Liturgy

For Joy and Gladness

Blessed are You, O Lord, who has nourished me from my youth up, who gives food to all flesh. Fill our hearts with joy and gladness. that we, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom to You be glory, honor, might, majesty, and dominion, forever and ever. AMEN.

- The Clementine Liturgy


Please leave a comment if these prayers have been helpful.

Radiant Times

This sums it up nicely!

This says it all, doesn't it!

Who Does He Think He Is???? President???

I'm not impressed by Obama campaigning in Berlin. It's not like he's running to lead the European Union. Obama is so presumptuous in this 'World Tour', as if he were some kind of Rock Star - oh wait! That's what he's been called before. Obama is campaigning among the leaders of our allies instead of among the American People. I guess he thinks he has the election wrapped up.

Not with me, for sure! And I'm no McCain fan.

By the way - Tiergarten means Zoo.

New Testament Prayers

The Prayer of Simeon

Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory to your people Israel.

Luke 2:29 - 32 NIV

The Magnificat

And Mary said,
My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled th hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.

Luke 1:46 - 55 NIV


Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.
My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.

Matthew 26: 39,42 NIV

Jesus' High Priestly Prayer

Father, the time has come. Glorify your son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ , whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours: you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

John 17: 1a - 8 NIV

Prayers of the Early Church

I discovered a little book owned by my dear husband, Mr. Radiant Times, called Prayers of the Early Church which was originally complied and edited by J. Manning Potts and published in 1953. In subsequent posts, I will edit (updating antiquated language) and publish selected prayers here for the benefit of my readers.


New Testament Prayers
First Century Prayers
Second Century Prayers
Third Century Prayers
Fourth Century Prayers
Fifth Century Prayers

Please leave a comment if you find this site helpful. Thanks.

Radiant Times

What a Race!

I cannot say our nominating system has been successful when I see the two presidential front runners campaign nowadays. If the best we can do is John McCain and Barack Obama for this election cycle, we will just have to grin and bear it for the next four years of bad leadership.

Obama is the furthest left of any Democratic member of the Senate and John McCain has reached far enough across the aisle to be vetted as a Democratic VP Candidate. So, both candidates are so far from their base that many Democrats are considering McCain and our undereducated product of government schools believes Obama is the greatest thing since Meerkat Manor and will vote for him in droves.

McCain is still not convincing his base that he's the right one for President, and many disillusioned conservative voters will either hold their nose to vote for him (and have a stiff drink afterwards) or simply abstain from voting for president this year. (My dear husband, Mr. Radiant Times, who thinks McCain is Nixonian and may plunge us into more war than we can handle, is in this category.)

Their major difference is on the handling of the war in Iraq and the War on Terror. Obama does not have his act together on this one. His waverability of positions is painful and obvious enough that it provides McCain easy cannon fodder for attack ads. Obama makes his lack of historical knowledge clear in the many recorded gaffes in his speeches. It's to the point that people expect Obama to say something wrong and historically or geographically incorrect.

McCain says the right things, but has a history of doing that and then turning on his party. Some say he is treacherous, and still needs to win the trust of his base. He's lucky to to have the PUMA Democrats leaning toward him.

We still have no clear direction on VP candidates. The right candidate is VERY important for McCain, whose advanced age IS an issue. McCain will essentially be choosing the next president. Obama is still a young buck, so the VP role in his campaign is not as important.

Both bases are disenfranchise and we have the worst slate of candidates for president that I have seen in my lifetime. The latest JibJab flash video is painfully true. God have mercy on America!

Just a Thought

The cover of the New Yorker is all the rage today, with it's supposedly satirical portrayal of Barak and Michelle Obama. Everyone's talking about it.




I had a different thought flowing through my active mind instead. Obama was raised as a Muslim. Not necessarily a radical Muslim, but enough to have an impact on his life. That's a fact and not a big deal. He also converted to Christianity around 1985, and started attending the church of the Notorious Rev. Jeremiah Wright, of "God D**m America" fame.

His conversion could be a problem for him as he tries to negotiate with Achmadinejad in Iran and with other Muslim leaders. Being a convert to Christianity, he is officially an apostate and the consequences of apostasy in Islam is death. Would he not be under threat of assassination if he attempts diplomatic negotiations in countries which are predominately Islamic??

Just a Thought!

Mr. Bill's - The Best Burgers in Town

As I was driving home from a rehearsal with a brilliant young singer, Karline Valentine, I heard an ad on the radio (AM 1450) for Mr. Bill’s on El Paseo in Las Cruces. It claimed that Mr. Bill’s had the best burgers in town. This is a possibly dubious claim since there are multitudes of burger places in town.

You can leave your skepticism at the door – Mr. Bill’s is the real deal. They really do have the best burgers in Las Cruces (and we are pretty picky!) The burgers are as good as the ones right off your grill and feature a thick tomato slice, iceberg lettuce, onions (grilled or ungrilled!) and a mayo house sauce. You can have your burger any way you like. The bun is delicious too!

They charge only $1.78 for their simple hamburger – and this small price for a real burger, not one of those stamped out military style burgers that are called ‘sliders’ in the Navy.

Besides a creative and delicious array of hamburgers, Mr. Bill’s also offers delicious seafood. We had the clams, which were not over breaded. The Chihuahua Dog amused me –it is a foot long all beef dog wrapped in a tortilla with green chili and cheese that is deep-fried!

Mr. Bill’s claims to be a “Hot Rod Café” and also adds to the ambiance of the place with a 50’s theme, the pictures of classic cars around the restaurant, the generous use of glass in the construction of the building, and the vintage seats and booths. One almost expects “The Fonz” from Happy Days to come around the corner to charm you and steal some fries from your basket.

Mr. Bill’s claims to be a meeting place for car buffs, and they offer half price burgers if you bring your classic cars on the right days. Yo! You Low Rider boys – Listen UP!

July 15 – 31, 2008 bring your 1960 car or truck for half price burgers.

August 1 – 15, 2008 bring any pre-1970 Harley Davidson for half price on your burgers!

Our only beef was with the fries, which were a bit soggy. They make them by hand from real potatoes – not the pre-fried, pre-frozen excuses of potatoes – and they just need to be a little bit larger. Everything else was FABULOUS!

Is the Methodist Church causing it's own downfall?

Is it a coincidence that the Methodist church has gone from one of America's largest denominations to one that is seriously declining?

Stay Posted! I'm on vacation in Virginia and will be back home this coming week!