St. Anselm of Canterbury wrote this prayer around 1100, asking Christ to bind our hearts to His in a friendship that cannot be broken. Pray it when isolation weighs heavy, when even good company feels hollow, or when you need to remember that Christ calls us friends, not servants.
O Lord Jesus Christ, draw thou our hearts unto thee; join them together in inseparable love, that we may abide in thee, and thou in us, and that the everlasting covenant between us may stand sure forever. O Lord, kindle our hearts with the fire of thy love, that we may daily increase in love toward thee, and toward each other for thy sake; that being rooted and grounded in love, we may be strong to apprehend with all saints the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. Amen.
St. Anselm of Canterbury, c. 1100
How this prayer works
This prayer of the day asks for two inseparable gifts: union with Christ and union with each other through Him. Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury who gave us the ontological argument for God’s existence, knew that theology without love hardens into pride. He asks Christ to “draw” our hearts, because we cannot manufacture this friendship ourselves.
The prayer’s second half quotes Ephesians 3:17-19, where St. Paul prays that believers might comprehend love’s four dimensions. Anselm understood that Christ’s love is not a feeling to chase but a reality to inhabit, “rooted and grounded” like a tree that survives drought. The fire he asks for is not emotional heat but the Holy Spirit’s steady flame, the same fire that descended at Pentecost.
Pray this before morning coffee when the day ahead feels isolating, or before bed when loneliness has settled in. Let Anselm’s words remind you that Christ has already called you friend (John 15:15), and that covenant stands whether you feel it or not.
Return to it when human friendship disappoints or when you wonder if anyone truly knows you.
