St. Augustine wrote this prayer around 400 AD, during the years when he was crafting his most influential works on grace and conversion. It asks the Holy Spirit to do what Augustine knew intimately: transform a stubborn heart into one that delights in God. Pray it on a morning when you feel spiritually cold or distracted.
O Lord, who hast mercy upon all, take away from me my sins, and mercifully kindle in me the fire of thy Holy Spirit. Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore thee, a heart to delight in thee, to follow and to enjoy thee, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
St. Augustine of Hippo, c. 400 AD
How this prayer works
Augustine asks for two things: the removal of sin and the kindling of the Holy Spirit’s fire. The fire image comes from Pentecost (Acts 2:3-4), when tongues of flame rested on the apostles and they were filled with the Spirit. The “heart of stone” versus “heart of flesh” echoes Ezekiel 36:26, where God promises to replace Israel’s hardened heart with one that can feel and respond.
Augustine knew what a heart of stone felt like. Before his conversion at age 32, he described himself as restless, torn between desires, unable to choose God fully. This prayer distills that experience: the acknowledgment that we cannot soften our own hearts, that the fire must be given.
Pray it slowly at the start of your day, especially on mornings when prayer feels like drudgery. Say the line “take away from me the heart of stone” out loud, then pause. Notice where you feel spiritually numb or resistant. Ask for the fire there. Carry the phrase “a heart to delight in thee” through the morning.
