O merciful Father, for Jesus Christ's sake, I beseech thee forgive me all my known and secret sins which in thought, word, or deed, I have committed against thy Divine Majesty, and deliver me from all those judgments which are due to me for them, and sanctify my heart with thy Holy Spirit, that I may henceforth lead a more godly and religious life!
And here, O Lord, I praise thy holy name, for that thou hast refreshed me this night with moderate sleep and rest; I beseech thee likewise defend me this day from all perils and dangers of body and soul: and to this end I commend myself and all my actions to thy blessed protection and government, beseeching thee, that whether I live or die, I may live and die to thy glory, and the salvation of my poor soul, which thou hast bought with thy precious blood.
Bless me, therefore, O Lord, in my going out and coming in, and grant that whatsoever I shall think, speak, or take in hand this day, may tend to the glory of thy name, the good of others, and the comfort of mine own conscience, when 1 shall come to make before thee my last account. Grant this, O heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ thy Son's sake: in whose blessed name I give thee thy glory, and beg at thy hands all other graces which thou seest to be needful for me this day and ever, in that prayer which Christ himself has taught me, "Our Father," &c.
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Lewis Bayly (born perhaps at Carmarthen, Wales, perhaps near Biggar, Scotland, year unknown; died at Bangor, Wales, October 26, 1631) was an Anglican bishop. He was educated at Oxford, became vicar of Evesham, Worcestershire, and probably in 1604 became rector of St. Matthew's Church, Friday street, London.
He was then chaplain to Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (died 1612), later chaplain to King James I, who, in 1616, appointed him bishop of Bangor. He was an ardent Puritan.
Bayly's fame rests on his book The Practice of Piety, directing a Christian how to walk that he may please God (date of first edition unknown; 3d edition, London, 1613). It reached its 74th edition in 1821 and has been translated into French, German, Italian, Polish, Romansh, Welsh, and into the language of the Massachusetts Indians. It was one of the two books which John Bunyan's wife brought with her and it was by reading it that Bunyan was first spiritually awakened.