Prayer During the Day on Thursday
    Thursday, 16 October 2025
Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London, and Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester, Reformation Martyrs, 1555 [Commemoration]
     
     
      Preparation  
     
    O God, make speed to save us.
All
   O Lord, make haste to help us.
     
    Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God;
All
   let your kindly spirit lead me on a level path.
   
Psalm 143.10
     
   
Praise
  
     
    A hymn, song, canticle, extempore praise, or
     
    Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
And such a Life, as killeth death.
     
    Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light, as shows a Feast:
Such a Feast, as mends in length:
Such a Strength, as makes his guest.
     
    Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a Joy, as none can move:
Such a Love, as none can part:
Such a Heart, as joys in Love.
   
George Herbert (1633)
     
   
The Word of God
  
     
     
   
Psalmody
     
    Either, on any Thursday Psalm 133
     
    Or, Week 4 Psalm 107.1-16
     
    Alternatively, when Morning and Evening Prayer are also celebrated, one of these cycles may be followed.
     
   

Psalm 133

Refrain: Mercy and truth are met together,
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

1  Behold how good and pleasant it is ♦
   to dwell together in unity.

2  It is like the precious oil upon the head, ♦
   running down upon the beard,

3  Even on Aaron’s beard, ♦
   running down upon the collar of his clothing.

4  It is like the dew of Hermon ♦
   running down upon the hills of Zion.

5  For there the Lord has promised his blessing: ♦
   even life for evermore.

Refrain: Mercy and truth are met together,
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Grant to your people, good Lord,
the spirit of unity,
that they may dwell together in your love,
and so bear to the world
the ointment of your healing and the
dew of your blessing;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
     
    (or)
     
   

Psalm 107.1-16

1  O give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious, ♦
   for his steadfast love endures for ever.

2  Let the redeemed of the Lord say this, ♦
   those he redeemed from the hand of the enemy,

3  And gathered out of the lands
      from the east and from the west, ♦
   from the north and from the south.

4  Some went astray in desert wastes ♦
   and found no path to a city to dwell in.

5  Hungry and thirsty, ♦
   their soul was fainting within them.

6  So they cried to the Lord in their trouble ♦
   and he delivered them from their distress.

7  He set their feet on the right way ♦
   till they came to a city to dwell in.

8  Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness ♦
   and the wonders he does for his children.

9  For he satisfies the longing soul ♦
   and fills the hungry soul with good.

10  Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, ♦
   bound fast in misery and iron,

11  For they had rebelled against the words of God ♦
   and despised the counsel of the Most High.

12  So he bowed down their heart with heaviness; ♦
   they stumbled and there was none to help them.

13  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, ♦
   and he delivered them from their distress.

14  He brought them out of darkness and out of the shadow of death, ♦
   and broke their bonds asunder.

15  Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness ♦
   and the wonders he does for his children.

16  For he has broken the doors of bronze ♦
   and breaks the bars of iron in pieces.
     
    Each psalm or group of psalms may end with
     
All
   Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and shall be for ever. Amen.
     
   
Short readings
  
     
    Week Four
    As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth. I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
   
John 17.18-23
     
    Or, on any Thursday
    Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.
   
1 Corinthians 12.12,13a
     
     
   
Response
  
     
    Silence, study, song, or words from Scripture, such as
     
    Jesus said, I am the gate for the sheep.
All
   I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
   
John 10.7,10b
     
   
Prayers
  
     
    Prayers may include these concerns:
     
    Local government, community leaders
    All who provide local services
    Those who work with young or elderly people
    Schools, colleges and universities
    Emergency and rescue organizations
     
    A form of intercession found here may be used.
     
    Either, the following prayer is said
     
    O gracious and holy Father,
    give us wisdom to perceive you,
    diligence to seek you,
    patience to wait for you,
    eyes to behold you,
    a heart to meditate upon you,
    and a life to proclaim you,
    through the power of the Spirit
    of Jesus Christ our Lord.
All
   Amen.
   
Benedict of Nursia (c.550)
     
     
    Or, the Collect of the day is said
     
    Almighty God,
you have made us for yourself,
and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you:
pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself,
and so bring us at last to your heavenly city
where we shall see you face to face;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
AllAmen.
     
    The Lord’s Prayer is said.
     
    (Either)
     
    As our Saviour taught us, so we pray
     
All
  Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
     
    (or)
     
    Let us pray with confidence as our Saviour has taught us
     
All
  Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
     
   
The Conclusion
  
     
    May God kindle in us the fire of love.
All
   Amen.
     
   

© The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, 2000–2005
Official Common Worship apps, books and eBooks are available from Church House Publishing.

The Bible readings (other than the psalms) are from The New Revised Standard Version Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Implemented by Simon Kershaw at Crucix.
Implementation copyright © Simon Kershaw, 2002–2021.