Two Prayers for the morning \n(First Hour, that is, about 7 AM) \nby Saint Basil the Great\nO \n eternal God, everlasting Light without begin-\nning, Fashioner of all creation, Fountain of mercy, \nOcean of goodness, and searchless Abyss of love for man-\nkind: cause the light of thy countenance to shine upon \nus, O Lord. Dawn in our hearts, O noetic Sun of Righ-\nteousness, and fill our souls with thy delight, and teach \nus always to meditate on and proclaim thy judgments, \nand to render thee our unceasing praise, O our Master \nand Benefactor. Direct the work of our hands accord -\ning to thy will, and help us to do those things which are \nwell-pleasing and dear unto thee, that through us unwor-\nthy ones thy most holy Name may be glorified: of the Fa-\nther and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one Godhead \n\n24\nprayers for morning, day & night\nand Kingdom, to whom is due all glory, honor, and wor -\nship, unto the ages. Amen.\nO \n thou who sendest forth the light, and it goeth; \nwho dost make the sun to rise upon the just and the \nunjust, upon the evil and the good, making the morn-\ning and enlightening the world: enlighten our hearts as \nwell, O Master of all, and grant us during the present day \nto be well-pleasing unto thee. Preserve us from every sin \nand every work of evil, delivering us from every arrow \nthat flies by day and from every adverse power: through \nthe prayers of our immaculate Queen, the Theotokos; of \nthine immaterial ministers, the heavenly hosts; and of all \nthe saints who from the beginning have been well-pleas -\ning unto thee. For thine it is to have mercy and to save us, \nO our God, and unto thee do we send up glory: to the \nFather and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and \never and unto ages of ages. Amen.\nA Prayer for Mid-Morning \n(Third Hour, that is, about 9 AM)\nby Saint Basil the Great\nO \n Lord our God, who hast given peace unto men \nand hast sent down the gift of thine All-holy Spir -\nit upon thy disciples and apostles, and didst by thy pow -\ner open their lips with the tongues of fire: open also the \nlips of us sinners and teach us how and for what we must \n\n25\nprayers throughout the day\npray. Be thou the helmsman of our life, O thou calm hav-\nen of the storm-tossed, and make known unto us the way \nwherein we should walk. Renew an upright spirit in our \ninmost parts and by thy ruling Spirit make steadfast our \nfickle mind, so that each day being led by thy good Spirit \ntoward whatever is profitable, we may be counted worthy \nto accomplish thy commandments and to keep always in \nremembrance thy glorious coming, which searches out \nthe deeds of men. Lend us thy power, lest we be deceived \nby the ruinous delights of this world: give us instead to \nyearn for the enjoyment of the treasures laid up for the \nage to come: for blessed and praised art thou in all thy \nsaints, unto ages of ages. Amen.\nA Prayer for Midday \n(Sixth Hour, that is, about noon)\nby Saint Basil the Great\nO \n God, the Lord of Hosts and Author of all creation, \nwho in thine ineffable and tender mercy hast sent \ndown thine Only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, \nfor the salvation of our kind, and through his precious \nCross hast torn up the record of our sins, and thereby tri-\numphed over the princes and dominions of darkness: do \nthou, O Master who lovest mankind, accept these prayers \nof thanksgiving and supplication even from us sinners, \nand deliver us from every dark and deadly transgression \n\n26\nprayers for morning, day & night\nand from all the visible and invisible enemies that seek \nto do us harm. Nail down our flesh with the fear of thee, \nand let not our hearts incline to evil words or thoughts; \nrather, wound our souls with thy love, that ever gazing \nupon thee, guided by thy light, and beholding thee, the \neternal Light that no man can approach, we may offer up \nunceasing praises and thanksgiving unto thee: the Father \nwithout beginning, together with thine Only-begotten \nSon, and thine all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, now \nand ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.\nA Prayer for Mid-afternoon \n(Ninth Hour, that is, about 3 pM)\nby Saint Basil the Great\nO\n Master and Lord, Jesus Christ our God, who art \nlong-suffering toward our faults and hast brought \nus even unto this present hour, in which, hanging upon \nthe life-giving Cross, thou didst open unto the good \nthief the way into paradise and destroy death by death: \nbe merciful to us, thy sinful and unworthy servants, for \nwe have sinned and transgressed, and we are not wor -\nthy to lift up our eyes and look at the height of heaven, \nsince we have forsaken the path of thy righteousness and \nhave walked according to the desires of our own hearts. \nBut we pray thee of thy boundless goodness: spare us, \nO Lord, according to the abundance of thy mercy, and \nsave us for thy holy Name’s sake, for our days have been \n\n27\nprayers throughout the day\nconsumed in vanity. Pluck us from the hand of the ad -\nversary, forgive us our sins, and kill our fleshly lusts, that \nputting off the old man, we may put on the new, and may \nlive for thee, our Master and Guardian; that so follow -\ning thine ordinances, we may attain to eternal rest, in the \nplace where all the joyful dwell. For thou, O Christ our \nGod, art indeed the true joy and gladness of those that \nlove thee, and to thee we send up glory, together with \nthy Father who is without beginning, and thine all-holy, \ngood, and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages \nof ages. Amen.