A Prayer for All Conditions of Men

This morning, it dawned on me that I had never written a post about one of the most beloved Anglican prayers, A Prayer for All Conditions of Men. It reads:

O God, the Creator and Preserver of all mankind, we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and conditions of men; that thou wouldest be pleased to make thy ways known unto them, thy saving health unto all nations. More especially we pray for thy holy Church universal; that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally, we commend to thy fatherly goodness all those who are any ways afflicted, or distressed, in mind, body, or estate; [* especially those for whom our prayers are desired;] that it may please thee to comfort and relieve them, according to their several necessities; giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen

Although quintessentially Anglican, this prayer was not yet written at the time of the earliest editions of the Book of Common Prayer. During the seventeenth century, a longer form of this prayer was written by the Reverend Dr. Peter Gunning, a Cambridge high churchman.  Dr. Gunning  (later bishop) intended this prayer for use in Evening Prayer when the Litany was not said. In 1662, revisers of the BCP edited out some redundant intercessions and included this intercession among the occasional prayers provided after the Daily Offices and Litany. The 1789 American BCP included this prayer among the basic options for Morning and Evening Prayer (perhaps because Americans tended to use the Litany, the Bidding Prayer, and the Prayer for the Whole State of Christ's Church infrequently).

The Prayer for All Conditions of Men includes three general petitions- 1) for divine grace and enlightenment, 2) for the universal Church and its mission and unity, and 3) for all those afflicted in any way. When employed with other office prayers for guidance, for civil authority, and for clergy and congregations, the most common intercessions are included in Morning or Evening Prayer. Furthermore, the phrase in brackets allows for more specificity to local or personal needs. So although every Anglican recitation of the Daily Office does not require the use of this prayer, it is beautiful and useful, and it deserves to be said frequently (and not hidden among numerous prayers at the back of a book),