Prayers for Various Occasions

Each prayer may end with

We make this prayer through Jesus Christ. Amen.

or with a versicle and response familiar to the congregation.

FOR THE QUEEN

God, the source of all authority,
bless our queen, Elizabeth, her family
and the family of nations she upholds;
may she remain a worthy focus of our loyalty,
and point us unfailingly to a higher commonwealth,
the true humanity
to which she and all her subjects owe allegiance;
for you are the God of nations; you are our God.

FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT

Spirit of justice, creator Spirit;
help us to make and keep this country
a home for all its different peoples,
and grant to our government and all its representatives
imagination, skill and energy
that there may grow amongst us aroha and peace.

FOR OUR COUNTRY

God of the southern sea
and of these islands,
of Māori, Pākehā *
and of all who dwell in our land;
we give you thanks and praise for our country,
and for what we have achieved together.
Increase our trust in one another;
strengthen our quest for justice,
and bring us to unity and a common purpose.
You have made us of one blood;
make us also of one mind.

* This may be adapted in Polynesia

E te Atua o te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa,
me ēnei motu, o te iwi Māori, te iwi Pākehā,
me rātou katoa e noho nei i tēnei wāhi.
Ka whakamoemiti,
ka whakawhetai ki a koe mō tēnei whenua o mātou;
mō ngā mea pai katoa kua whiwhi tahi nei mātou.
Whakanuia tō mātou aroha tētahi ki tētahi,
whakakahangia tō mātou whai i te tika
kia kotahi ai mātou i runga i te whakaaro kotahi.
Kua hanga matou e koe hei toto kotahi;
i raro i tēnei whakaaro kotahi.
Āmine.

FOR THOSE WHO GOVERN

Eternal God, Fount of wisdom;
we ask you to bless the representatives we have elected;
grant that through their discussions and decisions
we may solve our problems effectively,
enhance the well-being of our nation,
and achieve together a fairer and more united society.

FOR THE JUDICIARY AND POLICE

God of truth and justice;
we ask you to help the men and women
who administer and police our laws;
grant them insight, courage and compassion,
protect them from corruption and arrogance
and grant that we, whom they seek to serve,
may give them the support and affection they need;
so may our people be strengthened more and more in respect and concern for one another.

FOR THE ARMED FORCES

God our stronghold and defence;
we commend to you those whose task it is
to defend us in danger;
inspire them in war to serve our country well;
in peace, hold them ready and alert.
In their lives may they bring honour to our country’s name.

FOR TEACHERS AND EDUCATORS

God the source of all our inspiration,
help us to understand ourselves, our world and you;
and grant to those who teach us and our children
respect for others’ inventiveness and questioning,
and for themselves commitment to truth.

FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

O Eternal God, bless all schools, colleges and universities
(especially . . . ),
that they may be lively centres for sound learning,
new discovery and the pursuit of wisdom;
grant that those who teach
and those who learn
may find you to be the source of all truth.

HARVEST THANKSGIVING

Blessed are you, God of all creation,
for you give us abundantly, thirty, sixty and a hundredfold;
we praise you for harvest
and for the assurance of food and drink for another year;
strengthen us, as we enjoy what we are given,
to help the hungry and intolerably poor.

FOR THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH

Draw your Church together, O God,
into one great company of disciples,
together following our Lord Jesus Christ
into every walk of life,
together serving him in his mission to the world,
and together witnessing to his love
on every continent and island.

KARAKIA BEFORE A MEETING

God our Creator,
when you speak there is light and life,
when you act there is justice and love;
grant that your love may be present in our meeting,
so that what we say and what we do
may be filled with your Holy Spirit.

E te Atua tō mātou Kai-hanga,
ka tīaho te māramatanga me te ora, i āu kupu kōrero,
ka tīmata āu mahi, ka mau te tika me te aroha;
meatia kia ū tonu ki a mātou
tōu aroha i roto i tēnei huihuinga.
Whakakī ā mātou whakaaro ā mātou mahi katoa,
e tōu Wairua Tapu.
Āmine.

AN OFFERING PRAYER

Almighty God;
you give seed for us to sow,
and bread for us to eat;
make us thankful for what we have received;
make us rich to do those generous things
which supply your people’s needs;
so all the world may give you thanks and glory.

FOR PEACE

O God,
it is your will to hold both heaven and earth
in a single peace.
Let the design of your great love
shine on the waste of our wraths and sorrows,
and give peace to your Church,
peace among nations,
peace in our homes, and peace in our hearts.

FOR GOOD USE OF LEISURE

O God,
you rested the seventh day and are still at work;
in the course of this busy life
give us times of refreshment and peace;
and grant that we may so use our leisure
to rebuild our bodies and renew our minds,
that our spirits may be opened
to the goodness of your creation.

A THANKSGIVING FOR OUR COUNTRY

Blessed are you, God of the universe.
You have created us, and given us life.

Blessed are you, God of the planet earth.
You have set our world like a radiant jewel in the heavens,
and filled it with action, beauty, suffering, struggle and hope.

Blessed are you, God of Aotearoa New Zealand *
in all the peoples who live here,
in all the lessons we have learned,
in all that remains for us to do.

Blessed are you because you need us;
because you make us worthwhile,
because you give us people to love
and work to do
for your universe, for your world and for ourselves.

* This may be adapted in Polynesia

Prayers on Various Subjects
from the Collects of the Church’s Year

Within this section, the page numbers (550–641) refer to prayers on these pages in previous print editions. While in this edition the prayers on these pages have been replaced, the indicated pages are available online in the Prayer Book's historical content section (www.anglicanprayerbook.nz/historical).

The letter A, B and C refer to the first, second and third prayers for each Sunday or Holy Day.

Bereavement
590 Easter A, B    

Caring
635 Pentecost 23 B, C    

The Church
559 Christmas 2 B, C 567 Epiphany 5 B
587 Good Friday A, C 604 Day of Pentecost B
613 Pentecost 6 B 615, 616   Pentecost 8

Communion of Saints
601 Ascension Day A    

The Community
560 Epiphany B 637 Pentecost 25 C

Courage
567 Epiphany 5 C 582 Monday in Holy Week B
583 Tuesday in Holy Week A 595 Easter 1 A
596 Easter 2 B 632 Pentecost 21 C

Dedication and a Sense of Commitment
561, 562   Epiphany 1 A, B 587 Good Friday B
600 Easter 5 A 618 Pentecost 10
621 Pentecost 13 A 627 Pentecost 17 A, B
628 Pentecost 18 B 632 Pentecost 21 A, B
640 Pentecost 27 A, B    

Faith
563 Epiphany 2 B 609 Pentecost 3 B
610 Pentecost 4 A 622 Pentecost 13 B, C
628 Pentecost 18 A, B 632 Pentecost 21 A
Family Life
633 Pentecost 22    

Forgiveness
576, 577   Lent 3 624 Pentecost 15 A, B

Fulfilment of Our Potential
557 Christmas 1 A, C 569 Epiphany 7 A
608 Pentecost 2 C    

Generosity
584 Wednesday in Holy Week C 616 Pentecost 8 C

Holy Communion
585, 586   Maundy Thursday A, C 595 Easter 1 B
619 Pentecost 11    

Hope
623 Pentecost 14 B    

Humility
580 Lent 6 B 584 Wednesday Holy Week B
586 Maundy Thursday D    

The Hungry
578 Lent 4 A, C    

The Lonely
609 Pentecost 3 A    

Love and Acceptance
579 Lent 5 C 614 Pentecost 7 A
624 Pentecost 15 C 627 Pentecost 17 C
634 Pentecost 23 A    

Mission
564 Epiphany 3 604 Day of Pentecost
606 Pentecost 1 B 611 Pentecost 5 A
613 Pentecost 6 A, B    
National
636 Pentecost 24    

New Insights
560 Epiphany A 592 Easter Day B
596 Easter 2 A 598 Easter 3 B

Non-Christians
583 Tuesday in Holy Week B 588 Good Friday E, F

Openness and Readiness to Learn
599 Easter 4 B, C 614 Pentecost 7 C
641 Sunday before Advent B    

Peace
637 Pentecost 25 B, C    

People in Authority
560 Epiphany B 578 Lent 4 C
637 Pentecost 25 A    

Perseverance
580 Lent 6 A 583 Tuesday in Holy Week A
609 Pentecost 3 C    

Prayer
623 Pentecost 14 C 631 Pentecost 20 B, C

Purpose in Living
629 Pentecost 19 A, B 640 Pentecost 27 C

Repentance
568 Epiphany 6 A 570, 571   Epiphany 8
572 Epiphany 9 573 Ash Wednesday B
575, 576   Lent 2 B, C 610, 611   Pentecost 4 B, C

Responsible Use of Creation
569, 570   Epiphany 7 B, C 613 Pentecost 6 C
625, 626   Pentecost 16 A, C 639 Pentecost 26 B, C

Right Values
582 Monday in Holy Week    
Self-discipline
573 Ash Wednesday A    

Service
620 Pentecost 12 627 Pentecost 17 A
635 Pentecost 23 B, C    

Sharing
616 Pentecost 8 C    

Support in Trouble
568 Epiphany 6 B    

Vocation
612 Pentecost 5 B, C    

Watchfulness
550 Advent 1 A 641 Sunday before Advent

The World
558 Christmas 2 A 613 Pentecost 6 A
637 Pentecost 25 B 638 Pentecost 26 A

A New Zealand Prayer Book | He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa

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