Christ is the Alpha of our prayers;

We know not how to pray

Save as His Spirit in our hearts

Shall teach us what to say.

Christ is the Omega of our prayer,

The Father's great Amen

That rounds our halting periods

To sense beyond our ken.

But in the little space between

He lets us make the links,

And with our slow and stammering speech

Interpret what He thinks.

O First and Last, take Thou the prayers

Of every trusting soul,

And weld them to Thine own desire

To make a perfect whole.

Thou great Beginning of that Word

We cannot speak or spell,

Of the short syllable we lisp

Be Thou the End as well!