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Hedge prayers for Ash Wednesday: Feel free to use any – or all – as you begin the Lenten journey with us! (The first two are based on the Great Litany of the Anglican Church that Archbishop Thomas Cranmer wrote in 1544; the third is a responsive prayer based on Joel 2: 12 – 18 – an oft-used Scripture passage in Ash Wednesday services, and the last is a prayer of confession from Rodger’s Ash Wednesday service at Mulberry Presbyterian Church in Charlotte.)
O God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth, have mercy upon us.
O God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy upon us.
O God the Holy Ghost, Sanctifier of the faithful, have mercy upon us.
O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, one God, have mercy upon us.
Remember not, Lord Christ, our offenses, neither reward us according to our sins. Spare us, good Lord, spare your people, whom you have redeemed with your most precious blood, and by your mercy preserve us, forever.
Spare us, good Lord. From all evil and wickedness, from our sin, from everlasting damnation. Good Lord, accept our worship and deliver us, we pray. Amen.
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From all blindness of heart; from pride, arrogant boastfulness, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice; and from all want of charity,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all inordinate and sinful affections; and from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all false doctrine, heresy, and schism; from hardness of heart, and contempt of your Word and commandment,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From lightning and tempest; from earthquake, fire, and flood; from plague, pestilence, and famine,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all oppression, conspiracy, and rebellion; from violence, battle, and murder; and from dying suddenly and unprepared,
Good Lord, deliver us.
By the mystery of your holy incarnation; by your holy nativity and submission to the law; by your baptism, fasting, and temptation,
Good Lord, deliver us.
By your agony and bloody sweat; by your cross and passion; by your precious death and burial; by your glorious resurrection and ascension; and by the coming of the Holy Spirit,
Good Lord, deliver us.
O Christ, hear our prayer. Have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy. Kyrie eleison.
Christ, have mercy upon us and may your grace abound.
O Lord, arise. Help us and deliver us for your name’s sake. Amen
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We remember Lord, that you call us to return to you with all our hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; we are to rend our hearts and not our clothing.
We will return to you Lord, our God, for you are gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
Our prayer is with Joel, that you will turn and relent, and leave a blessing for us behind you. Hear us Lord, blow the trumpet in Zion as we sanctify a fast; we call a solemn assembly and gather your people.
We will sanctify the congregation and assemble the aged. We gather the children, even infants at the breast. We will call the bridegroom from his chamber and the bride from her canopy.
Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep. Let them say, “Spare your people, O Lord, and do not make your heritage a mockery, a byword among the nations.
We will not be those who ask “where is God?” For we know that you are jealous for your land, and have pity on your people. Hear our prayer, O Lord…
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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
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Gracious and loving God, we do not deserve your mercy. We cannot earn your love. All our works are as filthy rags before your holiness. Yet, still we try to defend our self-centeredness and make up excuses. Still we wear masks and play games that make us appear better than we are. Forgive our foolish ways, O Lord. Thank you for the invitation to come clean, to be remade from the inside out, to be washed in forgiveness that you alone can give. Thank you for the work of Christ that makes reconciliation with you and one another possible. Amen.