1 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.
2 Christ is the Omega of our prayer,
The Father's great Amen
That rounds our halting periods
To sense beyond our ken.
3 But in the little space between
He lets us make the links,
And with our slow and stammering speech
Interpret what He thinks.
4 O First and Last, take Thou the prayers
Of every trusting soul,
And weld them to Thine own desire
To make a perfect whole.
5 Thou great Beginning of that Word
We cannot speak or spell,
Of the short syllable we lisp
Be Thou the End as well!