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Prayer Book for Earnest Christians
(A spiritually rich Anabaptist resource)

The language of fervent prayer comes through clearly in this new translation of Die ernsthafte Christenpflicht. These prayers were offered three centuries ago by devout Christians in Europe and much used by Anabaptists. Amish and Mennonites carried them in their trunks and in their hearts when they crossed the ocean to the New World. Their voices of prayer span the barriers of time, language, and culture, and are as fitting today as then.

These heart-felt prayers express thanks for God’s caring protection, sincere confession, longing for God’s merciful forgiveness of sin, and gratefulness for God’s grace, which crowns the daily sunrise. Prayers for evening, morning, and special occasions reflect a desire for lives of obedience, hearts full of peace, and congregations of love and harmony. Pastoral concerns appear in prayers for the depressed, the poor, the weak, the sick, and the mentally handicapped; for widows and orphans; for persecutors and the persecuted.

Fifty years ago, Edward Yoder was using this classic devotional book and noted in his journal that it was "truly inspirational and deeply spiritual in tone and thought." He lamented that his generation of Mennonites, adopting English, had "cut themselves off so completely . . .. from the rich treasures of their heritage."

Now these treasures have been reclaimed. Like the Psalms, these enduring prayers provide a language of devotion and commitment that will enrich personal, family and congregational worship. They truly are "rich in spirit," and give comfort to "devout Christian hearts . . . in every season and in every need." We commend them to you for regular use.

Readers may want to choose appropriate portions of long prayers for use in public worship. Pastors will find many concerns and themes that can be readily adapted for pastoral prayers. Personal pronouns can be adjusted for either personal or corporate worship.

These prayers will also make a contribution to the literature of spiritual direction and spiritual retreats, whether personal or guided. Much of the literature of spirituality, while relevant and useful, has been borrowed from other theological traditions. Here is a wellspring of fervent spiritual expression from the Mennonite and Amish experience of earlier centuries.

The Historical Committee of the Mennonite Church recognized this need when it took action to sponsor the translation of this historic book of prayers. The committee sensed the growing thirst for a deep spirituality, the renewal of interest in the church’s heritage, and the constant need for clear identity and vision.

We hope that, through these prayers, God will "shape the ordering of our lives," "encourage the work of our hands," and "graciously equip us with true faith, good hope and genuine Christian love."

--John E. Sharp, Director, Historical Committee of the Mennonite Church

One of the best-kept publishing secrets within the Anabaptist tradition is the existence of a small tome, Die ernsthafte Christenpflicht. The first known edition was in 1708, and it is still in print. Among Amish and Mennonite books, this has the most (65) known North American printings, plus six printings of selections in English. Worldwide, its 88 known complete editions or reprints (counting this one) is superseded only by The Wandering Soul with its 127 known printings.

Now for the first time, all the prayers of the current edition of the Christenpflicht are available in English translation--including the seven prayers appended in the 1992 edition from an older source.

In 1991 the Mennonite Publishing House (Herald Press) printed its last edition of the German Christenpflicht. In 1992 Pathway Publishers of Aylmer, Ontario, issued a new edition, expanded by adding an appendix of additional prayers, as suggested by its senior editor, Joseph Stoll. These seven prayers, not found in the American edition, were taken from the first (1846) Canadian edition of the Christenpflicht.

The prayers translated here thus include all the prayers in the most recent American edition, plus selected prayers from the Canadian edition. All together, these are the prayers in the current Pathway Publishers' edition of the Christenpflicht . . . .

--Leonard Gross, Translator and Editor, Historical Committee of the Mennonite Church

>>Contents<<

A Fine Morning Prayer
A Fine Evening Prayer
A Fine General Prayer for Many Occasions
Another Fine Prayer
Yet Another Fine Prayer
Yet Other fine Prayers

1. For Grace Truly to Pray
2. For Christian Virtues
3. For the Forgiveness of Sins
4. For Experiences of the Faithful
5. For Various People suffering
6. For All of Us Together
7. Petition Against Schism
8. For Those Fallen from Fellowship
9. For Faithful Shephareds, Teachers, Preachers
10. For Political Authorities
11. For Our Enemies
12. Against the Ungodly Archenemies
13. For the Loyal, Good-hearted People
14. A Fine Prayer of Thanksgiving
15. Thanksgiving for the Saviour's Suffering
16. Thanksgiving for God's Wonderful Grace

For Purity of the Heart
Another Prayer
A fine Prayer
For Those Exiled and Persecuted
About Christian Discipleship
About the Kingdom of Christ
For Comfort During Physical Poverty
Prayer of a Traveler
For Faithful Laborers in the Lord's Harvest
For Enlightenment of the Heart
For Unity of Mind and Understanding
To the Holy Spirit for Help, Comfort, Support
Things for Which We Should Pray
Manasseh the King's Prayer for Forgiveness
Prayer of Daniel, in Chapter Nine
Prayer of a Sad and Depressed Person
A Prayer Before the Sermon
Another Worshipful, General Prayer
Another Short Prayer After the Sermon
Prayer for Use with Holy Baptism
Unison Prayer with the Holy Supper
Thanksgiving with the Breaking of the Bread
Thanksgiving with the Sharing of the Cup
Prayer for Those About to Be Married
Yet Another Short Morning Prayer
Another Short Evening Prayer
Prayer Before the Meal
Prayer and Thanksgiving After the Meal
Prayer for and with the Sick
A Sick Person's Prayer of Comfort
A Funeral Prayer
For Maintaining the Christian Faith and Virtues
A Morning Prayer
A Prayer of Devout Parents for Their Children
From the Canadian Christenpflicht

• Morning Prayer
• Evening Prayer
• Evening Prayer
• Prayer of a Remorseful Sinner
• Prayer for a Blessed End
• Prayer Before the Funeral Sermon
• Prayer After the Funeral Sermon

"A lasting tribute to Anabaptism as a whole, making Die ernsthafte Christenpflicht available to English readers."

--Amos B. Hoover, Muddy Creek Farm Library, Denver, Pennsylvania

"A remarkable Anabaptist book, with prayers of surprising warmth and purpose. Suitable for public use as well as in intimate groups. Deserves wide distsribution."

--Buelah Stauffer Hostetler, Author of American Mennonites and Protestant Movements, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania

Classics of second-generation Anabaptism, roots that give assurance and peace. Sin, death, and the devil are very real; so is the grace of God. The central themes of spiritual life are represented here. For devotional as well as public use. A significant new resource."

--C. J. Dyck, Author of Spiritual Life in Anabaptism, Elkhart, Indiana

A Fine Morning Prayer

O Lord, almighty God and heavenly Father, you have created us as human beings, formed us and given us life. You placed us into this world to obtain our sustenance with grief and toil until we again return to the earth, from which we were taken. You have also set for us a time for our life, that we may fear and love you, and hold fast to you wholeheartedly.

Just as you have given us the day for work, so also have you, through your divine kindness, ordained the night for rest. The rest we have enjoyed, merciful God and Father! under your gracious fatherly shelter and keeping. For this it is fitting that we praise, honor, and glorify you from the bottom of our hearts and the depths of our souls.

O almighty God and heavenly Father! forgive us for whatever we did last night or on any day of our lives that was not time spent in a holy way, whether through misuse of your blessings, transgression of your holy commands, or neglect of our duties in words, actions and thoughts, while asleep or awake. However we may have sinned against you, we confess with remorse and sorrow that such has happened. May you in mercy forgive us and pardon our sin, O heavenly Father! through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, your dear Son.

O heavenly Father! you have again let this day dawn. Help us remember that it is your gracious gift. Teach us to understand gratefully why you are again bestowing this glorious gift. As a merciful Father, you let your beautiful sun rise above our heads. Thus may we spend all the days of our lives following your will, preparing ourselves for the eternally long and everlasting day that you will create through your grace.

Holy Father! grant that we may understand and learn to forsake the night of darkness and sin, and be freed from it. May we walk in the clear light of your divine grace. Help us lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, so we may walk honorably as in the day.

O merciful God, let us radiate the light of your divine mercy. May we constantly keep you, O God and Father! foremost before our eyes in all we do or leave undone. You see everything, right now, with your eyes like a flame of fire, even what we are thinking and planning. And we know that you do not leave a good deed unrewarded nor an evil deed unpunished. Therefore, give us grace that we may spend all our days in a way that will bring praise to your holy name.

We pray, O holy Father! that just as you have loved us, we may be obedient to you with childlike love. Just as we are experiencing your fatherly love, may we in turn love our neighbor as ourselves. May we do nothing contrary to this love, so we may truly deal justly with our neighbor.

Holy Father! we pray that we may also enjoy with moderation all the gifts you have supplied for our needs, using them solely for their intended purpose. May we not misuse them through extravagance, greed, or selfish pleasures. Give us hearts willing to share, which do not complain about food and drink, or worry about physical nourishment. Teach us instead to place our trust in you and to await your divine help and grace. Give us a broken, lowly and contrite spirit, a penitent heart and true gentleness, and a genuine hunger and thirst for your righteousness.

Give us today a heart that is pure in your sight, O God! that we may see you. God of love and peace! grant us your eternal peace and grace that we may at all times show ourselves to be peace-loving in our relations with one another, avoiding all evil strife and dispute. And help us, with gentle spirit and quiet heart, to bear patiently all the calamities we may encounter in this life -- whether the cross, or grief, or disgrace, or other misfortune.

O Lord! since you are our God and Creator, direct our life and walk according to your holy and divine will. All our works and deeds are in your hands. We commit ourselves into your hands, O holy Father! with body and soul and all that we have. Rule over us, and advance the work of our hands, O God! according to your divine will.

We also pray for all people, everywhere, especially for our fellow believers wherever they may be scattered on the face of the earth. We pray as well for all troubled and desperate hearts, suffering and in need. And we pray for our persecutors, for they know not what they are doing. . . . [pp. 15-17].

To order your copy of Prayer Book for Earnest Christians, 151 pp. $8.99 Paper, contact Provident Bookstores: http://www.mph.org/pbs/pbslist.html