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Comfort all sad hearts, O Lord, we pray Thee. Be near us according to our different difficulties and conflicts. Guide us by Thy counsel, and make us willing to accept Thy guidance. Hear our prayers, make us more prayerful, receive our thanksgiving and deepen our gratitude, answer our petitions, and make us more earnest in asking. We pray Thee to hear us, and to grant us Thy blessing, and help now, for our Lord Christ’s sake.

Regard us all now, in the light of our circumstances. Thou knowest these better than we know ourselves, and far better than we know one another. May Thy gracious wisdom guide us, and may we not resist Thy guidance. May they not fail to give us what Thou seest our condition most requires. May we not turn away from Thy gifts, nor squander or misuse them. Keep us from wasting our Lord’s substance, from wasting the substances that Thou dost give us. May we feel that we are stewards as well as possessors; and may we, in all things, seek to praise and glorify Thee. Bless us each according to our diverse requirements. Comfort any that are in sorrow; be near all lonely and sad hearts. Let sorrow and loss be ministers to us of joy and gain. And may any tribulation of any kind, great or small, any difficulty or perplexity, anything disagreeable or unwelcome that comes to us in the way of our duty be useful to, and minister good to, us. And do Thou grant that, amidst all losses and pains, we may hear the great Voice that says to us, ‘Come up hither!’ and may we more and more set our affections on the things above, where Christ is; and with Him so many whom we know and loved, sitting at the right hand of God.

Teach us this evening how to speak Thy word, guide our thoughts, preserve us from saying anything that might be a stumbling-block to any. May the simplicity of motive mark all that we say, and may the word of the Lord shine even through the imperfect medium of the human utterance and vindicate its own divine power and sufficiency, whatever becomes of the vase in which it is carried. We pray for one another; we beseech Thee that Thou wouldst be near us according to our different circumstances and needs. If there are any amongst us who are in sorrow or trouble, any from whom Thou hast taken away earthly treasures, any who have been brought near to the gates of death, any who may be laden with anxiety, or perplexity, or cares, and surely there are many such among us, we beseech Thee that Thou wouldst help us to cast our burdens upon the Lord, Who bears our burdens, and Who gives us strength to bear them, and to live in the possession of that peace that passes understanding, because we have ceased to be anxious about ourselves, and anxiety has been swallowed up in faith.

We bless Thee that Thou knowest our hearts, our circumstances, and our needs, as well as our desires, for our desires are often false and our needs are always real. We pray that Thou wouldst regard them rather than our wishes, and that Thou wouldst minister to us as Thou surely wilt, if we will only let Thee, of the things that are requisite and necessary both for body and for soul. We cast ourselves upon Thee. If any of us are weighed down by any sorrow, or are feeling the desolations that sometimes come into every life, or have been called upon to part from the desire of our eyes, and have aching and empty hearts, we pray that Thou wouldst draw near to such, and comfort and help them to take the comfort that God gives. We bless Thee that we do not need to doubt Thy loving care of us and our dear ones, and we pray that we may stand firm in that confidence, not only when the sun is in the sky, and all the winds are still, but when clouds darken the heavens, and tempests desolate the earth.