by Edward Dering
in ePub, ,mobi & .pdf formats
Originally published in 1624, Godly Private Prayers for Householders to Meditate On by Edward Dering offers a rich treasury of biblical, Christ-centered prayers crafted for the daily life of Christian families. Dering, a devoted English Reformer and sometime lecturer at St. Paul’s Cathedral, sought to guide householders—husbands, wives, and children alike—into a deeper life of private devotion rooted in the gospel of grace.
This collection covers every sphere of life: morning and evening prayers for families, meditations on the Lord’s Prayer, prayers for perseverance, thanksgiving after hearing the Word, preparation for receiving the Sacrament, and supplications for times of affliction, temptation, or prosperity. Dering draws the soul to confess sin deeply, cling to Christ alone for forgiveness, and walk humbly in daily dependence on God's promises.
With unmistakable Reformation clarity, Dering’s prayers reject all reliance on human merit and direct the soul wholly to the finished work of Christ. He exposes the false hopes of penance, pilgrimages, and papal pardon, and teaches believers to find rest in Christ’s righteousness alone. Yet his tone throughout is warm, pastoral, and filled with Scripture, aiming to encourage the weary heart to hope in God's mercy.
More than a historical artifact, Godly Private Prayers remains a living companion for believers today who long to cultivate a spirit of humility, gratitude, and earnest devotion in the home. It is an invitation to make prayer not merely a duty, but the very breath of the Christian household.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Prayer Containing the Effect of the Householder's Catechism
A Prayer Upon the Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer, More at Large
A Confession of Sins with Faith and Repentance
A Prayer for the Prosperous Estate of the Whole Church
Morning Prayer for Private Houses and Families
Evening Prayer for Private Houses and Families
A Form of Prayer Daily to be Used of All Faithful Christians, in Their Houses, or Elsewhere
A Special Morning Prayer for the Sabbath
A Prayer for the Sabbath Evening
A Prayer to be Said Before the Hearing or Reading of the Holy Scripture
A Thanksgiving After the Hearing or Reading of the Word of God
A Prayer Before the Receiving of the Sacrament
A Prayer to be Said After the Receiving of the Sacrament
A Prayer for Constant Perseverance in Praying, When We are Dull to Prayer
A Prayer for All Times
A Prayer for All Estates
A Prayer to be Confirmed in the Knowledge of God
A Prayer for the Obtaining of Saving Faith
A Prayer to Feel in Heart Spiritual Comfort, and the Lively Sense of our Adoption by Faith
A Prayer Against Doubting to Strengthen a Weak Faith, and to Persevere Therein
A Prayer for Obtaining Trial, and Cherishing of the Holy Spirit of God
A Prayer for the Obtaining of a Lively Hope
A Prayer for the Obtaining and Increase of Love
A Prayer to Obtain and Preserve the Fear of God, that We May Be Kept Constant Thereby in Holiness to the End
A Prayer for Grace and Wisdom
A Prayer to Walk Conscionably in our Civil and Personal Calling
A Prayer Before the Taking of a Journey
A Thanksgiving After a Journey
A Prayer for a Woman in Time of Her Travail
A Thanksgiving After Safe Deliverance
A Prayer for Those Who Are Employed in the Assistance of a Travailing Woman
A Thanksgiving Upon the Blessing of Their Labor in the Deliverance
A Prayer for Such as in This World Be Very Rich and Wealthy
A Prayer for Such as Be Poor and Needy
A Thanksgiving After Blessings Obtained, to Acknowledge Them as from God
A Prayer for Patience in Tribulation, and that God May Be Glorified Thereby
A Prayer for Mortification and Holiness
A Prayer for the Feeling of the Sin of Hypocrisy, That We May Direct Our Lives According to the Prescript Rule of the Word
A Prayer Against the Secret Venom and Great Danger of Prosperity
A Prayer Against Whoredom and Uncleanness
A Prayer Against Covetousness and Ambition
A Prayer Against Usual and Common Swearing
A Prayer Against Pride
A Prayer Against Gluttony and Drunkenness
A Prayer Against Idleness and Sloth
A Prayer Against Infidelity and Despair, Necessary for a Troubled and Wounded Spirit