This is part of the series,
“Prayers from John Bradford”.
Who was John Bradford?
"How Fair You Are!"—Adoration
“When the Roots of Our Lusts”—Confession
“What Shall I Say?”—Confession
“Open Our Eyes to See Our Great Need”—Illumination
“You Are Our Most True Pilot”—Illumination
“Who Has Revealed Yourself to Humanity”—Intercession
“You Use All Means Possible”—Intercession
“We Most Heartily Ask”—Intercession
“My Watcher and Keeper”—Intercession
"Whom our Savior Christ Approached”—Intercession
When the congregation of St. John’s Church in Bradford West Gwillimbury, Ontario, celebrated two hundred years of Presbyterian presence in their area, they returned to their roots and used prayers of the 16th C. English Reformer, John Bradford, in their worship. This is one of the prayers of intercession.
Merciful God and Father,
whom our Savior Christ approached in his fear and need
as he anticipated death
and found comfort…
Gracious God and most bounteous Christ,
on whom Stephen called in his extreme need
and received strength…
Most Holy Spirit,
which in the midst of all crosses and deaths
comforted the apostle Paul
with more “consolations in Christ” than he felt sorrows and terrors…
“have mercy upon me.”
O dear Father,
call me now to come to you;
purge me
and so purify me by this fire
in Christ’s death and passion,
through your Spirit,
that I may be a “burnt offering of sweet smell” in your sight,
the One who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and evermore,
world without end.
Amen.
—“A Very Godly Prayer of One Standing at the Stake Ready to be Burnt for Christ’s Gospel’s Sake,” in The Writings of John Bradford, Cambridge University Press, 1843, p. 292. Public Domain. Language updated.
