The Prayer of Agur
“Remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; but feed me with food convenient for me; lest I be full and deny thee, and say, “Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” – Proverbs xxx, 8 9.
The Prayer of Socrates
“Beloved Pan, and all ye diviner ones about this place, grant that I may be good in the inner nature, and that what I have of external things may be accordant with those within. May I deem the wise man truly rich, and let me have only such an amount of gold as only a provident man may possess and use.” – Bibliotheca Platonica.
Dr. Anna Kingsford’s Prayer
“Our Father Mother, who art in the upper and in the within, hallowed be thy Name; Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done, in the body as in the spirit; give us every day the communion of the Mystical bread; and perfect us in the power of thy sons, according as we give ourselves to perfect others. Amen.” – Clothed with the Sun.
The Islamic Prayer
“Praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures; the most merciful, the king of the day of judgement. Thee do we worship, and of thee do we beg assistance. Direct us in the right way, in the way of those to whom thou hast been gracious; not of those against whom thou art incensed, nor of those who go astray.” – The Koran.
The Gayatri
“OM, Bhur, Bhava, Swar (O Earth, Sky, Heaven). Let us adore the Divine Sun, the Supreme One, who gives light to all, who creates all anew, from whom all proceed, to whom all must return; whom we implore to direct our minds aright as we draw near the Holy Throne. OM.” – The American Akademe.
The Prayer of the Madagascar People
“O Eternal! Have mercy upon me, because I am passing away; O Infinite! Because I am but a speck; O Most Mighty! Because I am weak; O Source of Life! Because I draw nigh to the grave; O Omniscient! Because I am in darkness; O All-Bounteous! Because I am poor; O All Sufficient! Because I am nothing.” – Flacount’s History of Madagascar.
The student’s Prayer
“This also we humbly beg, that Human things may not prejudice such as are Divine, neither that from the unlocking of the Gates of Sense, and the kindling of a greater Natural Light, anything of credulity or intellectual night may arise in our minds towards Divine Mysteries.”- Francis Bacon.
The Prayer of Jesus
“Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Let thy kingdom come. Thy will be fulfilled, even in earth as it is in heaven. Our daily bread give us this day. And forgive us our sins; for even we forgive every man that trespaseth us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.” – Wm. Tyndale’s Version, 1526. (Luke xi, 1)
A Zoroastrian Prayer
“May He who is the Light of Light, dwelling in the world, whose sun goes not down, whose is perfect freedom, in whose presence there is fullness of joy; and at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore, clothe our mortal with immortality in the third heaven of heavens.” – Robert Brown’s Religion of Zoroaster. (p.48) London
Noah’s Prayer over Adam’s Body
“O Lord, Thou art excellent in truth, and nothing is great beside Thee; look upon us in mercy; deliver us from this deluge of water for the sake of the pangs of Adam, the first whom Thou didst make; for the sake of the blood of Abel, the holy one; for the sake of just Seth, in whom Thou didst delight; number us not among those who have broken Thy commandments, but cover us with Thy protection, for thou art our deliverer, and to Thee alone are due the praises uttered by the works of Thy hands from all eternity.” – S. Baring Gould’s Patriarchs and Prophets.
The Prayer of Cyrus
“Thou, Father Zeus, and Thou Sun, and all ye Gods, accept these sacrifices and thank offerings presented on account of the accomplishment of many and honorable works, and because you have pointed out to me both by sacrificial signs, and by signs in the heavens, and by auguries, and by ominous messages, what things I ought and what I ought not to do. Many thanks are also due to you, because I have also learned your watchful care, and have never in my season of prosperity been high minded above what becomes man. And now I beseech you to give happiness to my children, and wife, and friends, and country; and such a life as ye have granted me, so grant me a like death.” – Xenophon’s Cyropaedia, Book viii, chap. 7.