35. THANKS FOR DELIVERANCE FROM AFFLICTIONS.

    I thank Thee, Lord, my God, with my whole heart and honor Thy name continually.  I shall render thanks unto Thee forever, for Thou hast done all things well.  Behold, for peace I had great bitterness, but in love to my soul Thou hast delivered it from the pit of corruption.  In my distress I called unto Thee, and Thou hast heard my voice, and my cry did enter into Thine ears, and Thou hast comforted me.  Thou hast faithfully stood by me, graciously upheld my soul, and finally, as a father, delivered me out of my great tribulations.  O my Lord and my God, how shall I requite Thee for all the benefits Thou daily bestowest upon me?  I will praise Thy name as long as I live; I will extol Thee in the presence of all Thy people, Thy glory shall continually be in my mouth.  O Thou faithful God, help me by Thy Spirit to pay my vows and never to forget what Thou hast done for my soul, so that I may not only publish Thy praise while in this mortal frame, but also sing everlasting hallelujahs to Thy praise with the elect in heaven.  Amen.

34. PRAYER OF THANKS AFTER A SAFE JOURNEY

   O gracious God, heavenly Father, I render thanks to Thee from my inmost heart that Thou hast granted me a safe jouirney and by the protection of Thy dear angels hast brought me back to my family, which has made our hearts glad.  It is due to Thy fatherly care that I have been preserved from all harm, that I have not been killed by robbers or wild animals nor have perished or suffered injury in floods or other dangers.  Protected by Thy holy angels, I have traveled in safety and good health to my journey's end and back again. For all this I owe thanks to Thy fatherly care and almighty protection, and I heartily  pray Thee that Thou wouldst also in future graciously extend to me and my family Thine almighty protection and sustain body and soul by Thy power unto life eternal; for Christ Jesus' sake.  Amen.

33. PRAYER IN GREAT DISTRESS AND DANGER.

     O almighty God and Father, ever ready to help, Thou seest and knowest that we live in great distress and danger, knowing of neither counsel nor help and finding in us no power or ability of escaping this great trouble.  So our eyes are turned to Thee, our only Comfort, Refuge, and Helper, who hast said, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me."  Our heart submits to Thy word of promise and now seeks Thy face in childlike humility and confidence.  O Lord, hide not Thy gracious face from us and cast not Thy children from Thee in wrath; do not forsake us nor withdraw Thy hand from us, God, our Salvation, who workest salvation to the ends of the earth.  Therefore let us experience Thy help, and be Thou gracious unto us.  In Thee, O Lord, our soul trusts, and under the shadow of Thy wings we find refuge until these dangers have passed by.  Turn Thou again to us and satisfy us early with Thy mercy; then shall we offer the sacrifice of praise and bless Thy name, for it is good.  Make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast aflected us and the years wherein we have seen evil.  Stand Thou by us in trouble; then shall we praise Thee and rejoice over Thy help all the days of our life.  Amen.

32. PRAYER IN GREAT WEAKNESS OF FAITH.

     O Lord, I now realize in very truth that not every man hath faith.  I believe, O Lord, but help mine unbelief!  Do not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax.  O Jesus Christ, Thou who sittest at the right hand of God, make intercession for me that my faith fail not.  Be the Author and Finisher of my faith that I may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the Wicked One.  Though I see not, let me yet believe and thus be saved.   Amen.

31. PRAYERS OF THANKS AFTER THE THUNDER-STORM

     Almighty God, heavenly Father, who hast said unto us, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify Me," we render Thee heartfelt thanks and praise for having graciously heard our prayer and caused the wild storm to pass by without injury to us in person or property.  In this wise Thou hast again like a father shown Thy faithful heart towards us, in that Thou dost not deal with us after our sins nor reward us according to our iniquities.  Grant unto us, O Father of all grace, for the sake of Thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ, that we may constantly amend our lives because of these earnest abmonitions, henceforth live in Thy fear, and prepare for the coming of Thy dear Son in order that we may meet Him in gladness, enter the new heaven, in which righteousness dwells, with joy and rejoicing, and eternally  possess it with Thee in blissful contemplation of Thyself; through the same Thy dear Son Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

30. PRAYER DURING A THUNDER-STORM

     O God, almighty Ruler of heaven and earth, we are reminded by Thy present thundering and lightening that Thou art very wroth with us sinful mortals.  By this resounding noise, at which all creatures tremble and are terrified, Thou dost, as by a veritable mourners' bell, call us to a knowledge of our sins and to true repentance, lest we be condemned with the evil, wicked world.  Thou, O Lord, art so mighty and powerful that Thou couldst instantly destroy the whole world with a single stroke of lightning, if Thou wouldst deal with us sinners according to stern justice.  But we bend our knees and humbly beseech Thee to cease from Thy fierce wrath which is kindled against our sins like a fire. Have compassion on us, spare us, lift up Thy face upon us, and be gracious unto us.  Preserve body and life, house and home, city and country, our property and all our belongings, also, the fruits of the field, from hail, lightning, great floods, and all harm.  Keep us also from a sudden evil death and graciously grant that many sinners, deterred from their ungodly walks and ways by Thy word, Thy thunder and lightning, may turn and be converted unto thee.  Let us at all hours, yea, every moment, be mindful of Thy glorious coming to Judgment and be prepared to receive Thee with joy and to enter eternal bliss with Thee.  Amen.  O Lord, be merciful and gracious unto us poor sinners in body and soul, both in this life and in the life to come.  Amen.

29. PRAYER FOR THE FRUITS OF THE FIELD.

     Dear Lord God, graciously preserve the precious fruits of the field, purify the air, grant quickening rains and good weather, that our crops may mature and we and our stock may not, by eating them, take pestilence, fever, and other ills; for such plagues come when evil spirits poison the air and thereupon the fruits, wine, and grain, so that we by Thy visitation eat and drink sickness and death with the products of our fields.  Therefore, O Lord, bless unto us these Thy gifts that they may advance our health and well-being; and grant us grace not to misuse them to the injury of our soul and the multiplying of sins, such as intemperance and idleness, from which unchastity, adultery, cursing, swearing, murder, war, and all manner of ills come; on the contrary, grant that we may use Thy gifts to our soul's salvation and improvement of our lives and that the fruits of the land may be a means of sustaining and improving the health of body and soul.  Amen.

28. PRAYER FOR SUNSHINE IN SEASON OF CONTINUED RAINS.

    Lord God Almighty, Thou hast clothed the heavens in darkness and covered the earth as with a shroud.  In days of yore Thou didst visit the world in Thy wrath with the waters of the FLood because of man's vice and wickedness, destroying everything that had life and breath on dry land.  At this time we, too, are being visited on account of our manifold transgressions and in accordance with Thy stern justice with unusual rains and with protracted and continued we weather, greatly to the injury of the fruits of the land.  O merciful Father, Thou didst after the Flood close the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens and madest the rains to cease; remove from us all our sins and transgressions, avert the punishment we deserve, and let the damaging rains and great waters subside.  fFor the earth is gloomy, and the heavens above are mounrful.  Look upon that token in the clouds, the rainbow, and remember Thy promise.  Grant good and fruitful weather, so that the fruits of the field and the garden will not be ruined by excessive rains and a famine ensue.  O Lord, Thou faithful God, who canst not lie, Thou hast said:  The waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.  Therefore, O Lord, be merciful.  Do not have Thy compassion shut out by Thy wrath; do not take Thy grace and mercy from us.  Graciously preserve us from a dearth of bread; bless our bread, so that we may always have food sufficient and praise Thy name.  Thus we shall see that we are truly Thy children, for whom Thou dost faithfully provide, and we will honor and praise Thee, our heavenly Father, all the days of our lives.  Amen. 

27. PRAYER FOR A TIME OF DROUGHT.

     O faithful, true, and righteous God, Thou hast told us in Thy Word in a manner most comforting that an earnest, fervant, faithful, and persevering prayer penetrates the heavens and not only comes before thy face without fail, but is effectual and availeth much.  Therefore, upon Thy comforting direction, we, Thy needy children, have come into the presence of Thine exalted, devine majesty in this period of unusual and exceedingly protracted heat and drought with our confident, hearty, and most earnest petitions, humbly praying Thee that Thou wouldst graciously hear us according to Thy promise, mercifully turn Thy great wrath from us, and give the parched earth again the moisture it needs by having the quickening rain descend in drops and showers, so that the soil may again bring forth and yield the fruits necessary for the substance of our lives, as intended by Thy fatherly care at the time of creation.  And even as in days of old Thou didst, upon the earnest prayer of Thy faithful servant and prophet Elias, open the closed heaven and cause it to rain upon the thirsty earth, so do we now trust that Thou wilt deal mecifully with us in this time of great heat and drought, granting us this our earnest prayer because of Thy fatherly care for us; through Jesus Christ, Thy dear Son our only Redeemer and Savior.  Amen. 

26. PRAYER OF MEDITATION ON THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.

     O my dear Lord Jesus, when I look upon Thee now in the Garden Thou wast exceeding sorrowful and Thy sweat was as it were great drops of blood; when I see Thee taken prisoner, bound, mocked, and treated despitefully during that whole night and time of darkness; then in the early morning behold Thee, the spotless Lamb, falsely accused, beaten with many stripes, condemned to death, hanged on the cross, Thy hands and feet pierced, yea, every member of Thy holy body wounded, -- when I behold all this, I see in it nothing but my sin, guilt, and iniquity, which has driven Thee to this and on account of which Thou didst subject Thyself to all this anguish, suffering, and pain.  Alas!  I, O Lord, have deserved to suffer all Thou didst endure; I am the cause of it all.  How mysterious are God's ways that the innocent must pay what the guilty has incurred, that the godly must atone for the guilt of the ungodly!
     The debts the servant incurred the Master must pay; what sinful man has laden upon himself his God must bear.  O Thou Son of the living God, how great is Thy love and mercy towards us men!  What hast Thou not done and suffered in order to redeem me, a poor, lost sinner, and to save me from death and eternal damnation!  I have transgressed, and Thou art stricken:  I have sinned, and Thou didst make amends.  I have been disobedient, and because of my disobedience Thou must endure this anguish and distress.  O Thou Lord of Glory, what return am I able to render for all the mercies and all the truth which Thou hast shown unto me? How can I poor, needy mortal recompense Thee?  O Lord, this debt remains unpaid and cannot be canceled by anything in heaven or on earth.  It is Thy grace and mercy, Thy love and truth, and this will ever remain unrequited by me, a poor sinner.  But since I have not wherewithal to pay my debt, I render Thee most heartfelt thanks for all Thy mercy towards me and I will praise and magnify Thy name from henceforth and even forevermore.  Amen.

25. PRAYER FOR PRESERVATION FROM SIN, AND FOR THEIR REMISSION WHEN COMMITTED

     O Thou God of grace and mercy, our dear Father in heaven, moved by grace and divine love, Thou hast given us Thy dear Son and with Him full salvation and grace.   We now pray Thee, dear Father, preserve unto us this precious boon and heavenly gift, even the blessed contemplation of Thy dear Son Jesus Christ, so that we do not lose Him through ingratitude or otherwise be deprived of Him.  We are indeed poor, wretched, and frail beings, who fall from one sin into another, sinning now in thoughts, now in words, now in deeds, so that we are in great danger of falling from faith.  We have no rest, no peace; the devil lies in wait for our thoughts, ever tempting and instigating; the world is on the watch for our words and deeds, for our walk and ways, giving us many an offense and many occasions for sinning; nor is our flesh by any means idle.  Besides, there are incidental sins, vices, and faults to which we are daily subject, which grievously burden our consciences and turn the joy of our hearts to nothing but sorrow and grief.

     Therefore we pray Thee, Thou God of mercy and grace, be Thou ever our faithful God though we may have been negligent and thankless, not walking so carefully as we should.  Be kind, comforting, gracious, and merciful towards us; reward us not according to our iniquities, but cleanse our hearts and consciences by Thy Word that we may serve Thee in sorrow and in joy and render unto Thee thanks, honor, and praise in time and eternity.  Amen.

24. A PRAYER FOR THANKSGIVING AFTER COMMUNION

    O Lord Jesus Christ, I render Thee hearty thanks and praise that Thou hast again cleansed me, a poor, sinful being, from mine iniquities and hast also, for a firm assurance of this cleansing and remission of all my sins, nourished me with Thy true body and blood.  And I furthermore thank Thee that upon such cleansing Thou hast again received me, a defiled child, into the loving arms of Thy grace and mercy and hast presented me to Thy Father "holy and unblamable in His sight."

     And I pray Thee with my whole heart and all my strength that in addition to these benefits Thou wouldst through Thy Holy Spirit grant me grace to acknowledge Thy great goodness and mercy, to receive it with thanksgiving, and heartily to laud and praise Thee all the days of my life.

     Do Thou furthermore by Thy Holy Spirit so dispose me that I may heartily forgive my neighbor all that he may have done against me, even as Thou, O Lord, hast fully canceled and forgiven all my great and manifold transgressions, yea, hast entirely blotted them out of Thy remembrance.

     And finally grant, O Lord, that I may love my neighbor and do deeds of kindness unto him with an honest heart, -- for Thou hast done more for me than I can ever thank Thee for, -- so that Thou, my dear and loving Savior, mayest be extolled and praised by us now and forevermore, together with the Father and the Holy Ghost.  Amen.