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What words do the first Christians turn to in worship, at meals, and in hard times?
Prayers of the Early Church gathers short, plain Christian prayers from the first centuries of the faith. Edited by J. Manning Potts, the collection brings together voices from early church writers, congregational worship, and teachers of new believers. These are words for shared worship and life at home, long before printed prayer books exist.
The collection opens a way into the Jewish roots of early Christian prayer: the Psalms, thanks at meals, and prayer at set hours. Praise returns as a central theme. As you move among these different voices, you can consider what early believers ask of God and how their words might serve your own prayer today.
What you’ll discover
- The Jewish roots Explore the Psalms, meal blessings, and daily rhythms that shape the first believers’ prayers.
- Voices from early worship Encounter prayers drawn from congregations, early church writers, and teachers who guide new believers.
- Praise at the center Notice how praise returns across prayers from different voices in the early church.
- Words for ordinary life Find short prayers used at home, at meals, in worship, and through hard times.
- A slower devotional rhythm Read one prayer aloud and let each phrase settle before moving to the next.
Who will love it
This book is for readers who love quiet devotion, for families and prayer groups who want words to share aloud, and for anyone curious how the first Christians spoke to God.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Prayer holds lives in a few lines
- Joy and anguish belong in prayer
- Prayer gives care for others words
- Rulers also belong in prayer
- Faith seeks strength in facing death
- Shared prayer shapes the daily hours
- Prayer reaches beyond the self
- Honest need draws Augustine toward God
- Many voices offer words for prayer
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Prayers of the Early Church
Simeon, Stephen, Polycarp and Augustine speak to God in prayers gathered from the first five centuries.
Medium levelUnder 2 hours to read20 languages
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In short
What would you say to God if you had only a few lines, and your life hung on them? Simeon says he has seen God's salvation and asks to depart in peace.
Prayers of the Early Church at a glance
- Reading time
- About 1 h 5 min50 min fast, 1 h 15 min slow
- Length
- 15,200 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A prayer book arranged by century
This book is a collection, not a single argument. J. Manning Potts chose prayers for their spiritual worth and set them in order of time. Five chapters follow five centuries, and each holds the voices of its age.
Some prayers belong to named people, such as Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Ambrose, Basil and Augustine. Others come from liturgies, the set forms of prayer used in public worship, or from old prayer books called sacramentaries. Potts is plain about what is uncertain. Questions of date and authorship arise here just as they do for the books of the Bible. A liturgy grows as the prayer of a community more than of one author.
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- 15-minute summary
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- Reading time
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Cite this edition
Prayers of the Early Church. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/prayers-of-the-early-church.
Prayers of the early church. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/prayers-of-the-early-church
Prayers of the Early Church. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/prayers-of-the-early-church.
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title = {Prayers of the Early Church},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/prayers-of-the-early-church}
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What is Prayers of the Early Church about?
It is a collection of prayers from the first five centuries of the church, arranged by century. It includes prayers from the New Testament, martyrs such as Polycarp, early liturgies, and church leaders such as Ambrose, Basil, Chrysostom and Augustine.
Who compiled Prayers of the Early Church?
J. Manning Potts, editor of The Upper Room in Nashville, compiled it in 1953. He drew the prayers from many older books of prayer and devotion and arranged them in order of time, one chapter for each century.
Who wrote the prayers in this book?
Many carry the names of people such as Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Ignatius, Ambrose and Augustine. Others come from liturgies and old sacramentaries. The editor notes that dates and authorship are sometimes uncertain, just as for books of the Bible.
More by J. Manning Potts (editor)
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