"O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."Those unfamiliar with the Anglican vernacular often ask why do you refer to certain prayers as "Collects" (pronounced as "kəˈlekts")? The answer lies in the fact that the prayer serves as a means of gathering hearts, souls and people together at the beginning of the Anglican worship service. This happens on both a local and global level as Anglicans throughout the world have or will have prayed some version of this prayer in their own language. Though this might sound a little wonky, its import is a little mind blowing.
Consider for a moment; Anglicanism is the third largest expression on Christianity on Earth, approaching 100 million communicants. Today, these 100 million men, women, and children have prayed that Divine grace be poured out on those outside the family of God. You see, followers of Christ aren't sitting in their holy clubs asking their God to smite the world with His club (Westboro "Baptist" notwithstanding). No, the truth is far from this.
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