| Table of Contents |
| | Penitential Cries to God (1760) / Jupiter Hammon | 3 |
| | Prayer for New Birth / Lemuel Haynes | 6 |
| | Mother's Prayer for the Child in Her Womb / Phillis Wheatley | 7 |
| | Prayer for Faith / Richard Allen | 8 |
| | Prayer for Hope / Richard Allen | 10 |
| | Prayer for Love / Richard Allen | 11 |
| | Thanksgiving Prayer for the Abolition of the African Slave Trade / Absalom Jones | 12 |
| | Prayer for Sanctification / Jarena Lee | 14 |
| | Prayer for Africa's Children / Peter Williams, Jr. | 16 |
| | Prayer for Trust / Peter Williams, Jr. | 17 |
| | Prayer for the Abolition of Slavery / George Lawrence | 18 |
| | Slave Woman's Prayer / Stephen Hays | 19 |
| | Desire to Know Our Characters / John Jea | 20 |
| | For the Morning / John Jea | 21 |
| | Prayers from a Pilgrim's Journal / Daniel Coker | 22 |
| | Prophet's Plea to God / David Walker | 25 |
| | And Now What Wait We For? / Maria W. Stewart | 26 |
| | Prayer for Divine Companionship / Maria W. Stewart | 27 |
| | Prayer for Holy Zeal / Maria W. Stewart | 28 |
| | Prayer for the Children of Africa in America / Maria W. Stewart | 29 |
| | Prayer for Purification / Maria W. Stewart | 30 |
| | Prayer for Vision / Maria W. Stewart | 31 |
| | O God, This Great Work Is Thine / Maria W. Stewart | 32 |
| | Purge Us from All Our Dross / Maria W. Stewart | 33 |
| | Hour of Prayer / Daniel Alexander Payne | 34 |
| | Prayer for Dedication of a Church Edifice / Daniel Alexander Payne | 36 |
| | Teacher's Prayer / Ann Plato | 38 |
| | Instructions in the Midst of Prayer / Rebecca Cox Jackson | 39 |
| | Pastor's Last Prayer for His People / London Ferrill | 40 |
| | Slave Mother's Doleful Prayer / Fannie Woods | 41 |
| | Piteous Prayer to a Hidden God (1861) / Harriet A. Jacobs | 45 |
| | Poor Negro's Prayer Anonymous | 46 |
| | Sacred Ode: A Prayer for the Consecration of a Pulpit / Daniel Alexander Payne | 48 |
| | Prayer for the Mourner's Bench An Anonymous "Colored" Woman | 51 |
| | Poetic Prayer for a New Day / Charles Henry Phillips | 52 |
| | Prayer at Westminster Abbey / James Theodore Holly | 53 |
| | Always Pray / Sojourner Truth | 55 |
| | We Bless God / Alexander Crummell | 56 |
| | Benediction for a Peaceful Soul / Anthony Binga, Jr. | 57 |
| | Prayer for Power / Orrin Stone | 58 |
| | Doxology / Josephine Delphine Henderson Heard | 59 |
| | I Will Look Up / Josephine Delphine Henderson Heard | 60 |
| | Matin Hymn / Josephine Delphine Henderson Heard | 63 |
| | Thou Lovest Me / Josephine Delphine Henderson Heard | 64 |
| | Unuttered Prayer / Josephine Delphine Henderson Heard | 65 |
| | Slave Mother's Prayer / Sallie Smith | 66 |
| | Some Prayers of Slave Children / Sallie Smith | 67 |
| | Bishop's Benediction / Singleton Thomas Jones | 68 |
| | O God, Save Me / Frederick Douglass | 69 |
| | Conversation with the Lord / Amanda Smith | 71 |
| | Prayer for Spiritual Assurance (1894) / Charles Price Jones | 75 |
| | As I Am Running / Charles Price Jones | 76 |
| | Lord, Rebuke Thy Servant Not / Charles Price Jones | 77 |
| | Prayer for Consecration / Charles Price Jones | 78 |
| | Our Plea / Benjamin Tucker Tanner | 79 |
| | Hidden Grief / Benjamin Tucker Tanner | 80 |
| | Who? / Benjamin Tucker Tanner | 81 |
| | Ah, Tender Soul / Benjamin Tucker Tanner | 82 |
| | Again and One More Time Anonymous | 83 |
| | Sun Done Rose Anonymous | 85 |
| | Offering / Eloise Alberta Veronica Bibb | 86 |
| | Lead Gently, Lord / Paul Laurence Dunbar | 87 |
| | Warrior's Prayer / Paul Laurence Dunbar | 88 |
| | When Storms Arise / Paul Laurence Dunbar | 89 |
| | Soul's Thirst / Lewis Ruffin Nichols | 90 |
| | Psalm of the Soul / Katherine Davis Chapman Tillman | 91 |
| | Hymn of Praise / Katherine Davis Chapman Tillman | 92 |
| | Elijah's Stay / John B. Smalls | 93 |
| | Prayer for the Human Heart / John B. Smalls | 94 |
| | Slave Father's Prayer / Jacob Stroyer | 95 |
| | Lord God, To Whom Our Fathers Pray'd / Benjamin Griffith Brawley | 96 |
| | Hymn / Priscilla Jane Thompson | 97 |
| | Prayer / Priscilla Jane Thompson | 98 |
| | Century Prayer / James Ephraim McGirt | 99 |
| | Stand by Me / Charles Albert Tindley | 100 |
| | Litany of Atlanta / William Edward Burghardt Du Bois | 102 |
| | Give Us Grace / William Edward Burghardt Du Bois | 105 |
| | Prayer for Endurance / William Edward Burghardt Du Bois | 106 |
| | Prayer for Vision and Thought / William Edward Burghardt Du Bois | 107 |
| | Prayers of God / William Edward Burghardt Du Bois | 108 |
| | Vision at the Great Azusa Prayer Meetings / Charles Harrison Mason | 112 |
| | Exhortative Invocation / Charles Harrison Mason | 114 |
| | I'll Follow Thee / Clara Ann Thompson | 116 |
| | Out of the Deep: A Prayer / Clara Ann Thompson | 117 |
| | Storm-Beaten / Clara Ann Thompson | 118 |
| | Appeal to Heaven / Maurice N. Corbett | 119 |
| | Lord, Your Weak Servants Bow / Maurice N. Corbett | 123 |
| | Thou Hast Supplied My Every Need / Theodore Henry Shackelford | 127 |
| | Prayer for the Nations / Walter Henderson Brooks | 128 |
| | Cleave Us a Way, O Lord (1920) / Raymond Garfield Dandridge | 131 |
| | God of Our Weary Years / James Weldon Johnson | 132 |
| | Prayer for Good Friday / George Alexander McGuire | 133 |
| | Prayer for the Synod . . . / George Alexander McGuire | 134 |
| | We Are Fully in Thy Sight / Charles Albert Tindley | 135 |
| | Pagan Prayer / Countee Porter Cullen | 136 |
| | Shroud of Color / Countee Porter Cullen | 137 |
| | Prayer for Freedom from Race Prejudice / Robert C. Lawson | 143 |
| | Keep Me from Sinkin' Down / Robert Nathaniel Dett | 144 |
| | Deacon's Campmeeting Prayer Anonymous | 145 |
| | De Same God Anonymous | 146 |
| | Draw Me, Dear Jesus / Garfield Thomas Haywood | 147 |
| | Marriage Prayer / Lewis Garnett Jordan | 148 |
| | O Lord, Have Mercy! / James Cameron | 149 |
| | Inward Conflict / Walter Henderson Brooks | 150 |
| | Holy Spirit, Come! / Walter Henderson Brooks | 151 |
| | In This Hour / Walter Henderson Brooks | 152 |
| | One Thing I Crave / Walter Henderson Brooks | 153 |
| | Precious Lord, Take My Hand / Thomas Andrew Dorsey | 154 |
| | Sunday School Prayers / Benjamin Elijah Mays, Joseph William Nicholson | 155 |
| | We Thank Thee | 155 |
| | Thankful Pleading | 155 |
| | Thy Holy Presence | 155 |
| | Sunday Morning Prayer | 156 |
| | We Beg Thee | 156 |
| | We Ask Thee | 156 |
| | We Surrender to Thee | 156 |
| | Thy Wonderful Blessings | 157 |
| | Forever and Ever | 157 |
| | Sweet Voice | 157 |
| | Duty Bound to Pray | 157 |
| | Bless the Low in Spirit | 157 |
| | Grant Me Strength / Esther Popel | 158 |
| | Thanksgiving Prayer / William Massie | 159 |
| | Prayer of Contrition / John Nathaniel Samuels-Belboder | 160 |
| | Mother's Desperate Plea / Richard Wright | 162 |
| | Familiar Prayer / J. G. St. Clair Drake | 163 |
| | Touch Me, Lord Jesus / Lucie Mae Campbell | 164 |
| | God Speed the Day / Ralph Mark Gilbert | 166 |
| | Look Thou with Compassion upon Every Heart / Ralph Mark Gilbert | 167 |
| | O Shepard Divine / Ralph Mark Gilbert | 168 |
| | Our Need for Thee / Ralph Mark Gilbert | 169 |
| | We Need Thy Hand / Ralph Mark Gilbert | 170 |
| | Return, O Lord / Charles Eric Lincoln | 171 |
| | They Would Pray / Benjamin Albert Botkin | 172 |
| | Dear God, Thank You for the Morning Light / Elizabeth J. Dabney | 173 |
| | O My God, Please Close This War / Elizabeth J. Dabney | 174 |
| | Please Send Our Boys Back Home / Elizabeth J. Dabney | 175 |
| | What It Means to Pray Through / Elizabeth J. Dabney | 176 |
| | I Ask You, Jesus, to Take Care of Me / Diana Brown | 178 |
| | Send It Now, Lord / William H. Pipes | 179 |
| | Thank Thee for Everything / William H. Pipes | 180 |
| | Thou Have Widen the Way for Us / William H. Pipes | 181 |
| | I Let Go of My Accumulations / Howard Thurman | 182 |
| | O God, I Need Thee / Howard Thurman | 183 |
| | Prayer of Florence's Mother / James Arthur Baldwin | 184 |
| | Lead Me, Guide Me / Doris Akers | 186 |
| | Prayer for a College Woman (1956) / William Lloyd Imes | 189 |
| | Pastoral Prayer / Martin Luther King, Jr. | 190 |
| | Prayer for Freedom / Raphael Philemon Powell | 191 |
| | Prayer for Teacher / James Mercer Langston Hughes, Arra Wendell Bontemps | 205 |
| | Eighth Psalm / Charles Eric Lincoln | 206 |
| | Prayer for Love / Charles Eric Lincoln | 207 |
| | Bless Those Who Teach / John Malcus Ellison | 208 |
| | Rekindle Our Sense of Wonder / John Malcus Ellison | 209 |
| | We Cast Ourselves upon Thee / Jesse Jai McNeil | 210 |
| | Brother Ezekiel Prays Besides Hetta's Deathbed / Margaret Abigail Walker Alexander | 211 |
| | Vyry's Prayer in the Wilderness of Reconstruction / Margaret Abigail Walker Alexander | 213 |
| | Child's Prayer / Otho B. Cobbins | 214 |
| | Prayer for African American Peoplehood / Albert B. Cleage, Jr. | 215 |
| | Hasty Word / Howard Thurman | 216 |
| | We Don't Know How / Howard Thurman | 218 |
| | Give Me a Clean Heart / Margaret Pleasant Douroux | 219 |
| | Memorial Prayer at Howard University in Memory of Dr. Martin Luther King / Smallwood Edmond Williams | 220 |
| | Prayer for a Positive Attitude / Leon H. Sullivan | 221 |
| | Good Friday Declarations of Awareness / M. Moran Weston | 222 |
| | Benediction / William Lee Ransome | 224 |
| | Lord, Help Me to Hold Out / James Cleveland | 226 |
| | Dear Jesus, I Love You / Walter Hawkins | 227 |
| | Prayers of Our Grandmothers / Jesse Louis Jackson | 228 |
| | Help Me, Lord, to Stand for the Kingdom / James Alexander Forbes, Jr. | 231 |
| | Pray for the Christian Family / Fred C. Lofton | 233 |
| | You Know the Purpose of Our Gathering, Jesus / James Brown | 235 |
| | Prayer Before the Everlasting Fountain / Gardner Calvin Taylor | 242 |
| | Classic African-American Folk Prayer (1981) / Melva W. Costen | 245 |
| | Plea of a Raped Woman / Alice Walker | 246 |
| | Prayer for Healing / Richard Daniel Henton | 247 |
| | O God, Slow Us Down / George Thomas | 249 |
| | Thank You for Each One of Them / William Townsend Crutcher | 250 |
| | Lord, We Didn't Come Here to Stay / Wyatt Tee Walker | 251 |
| | Benediction for a Church Ground Breaking Service / Benjamin Stanley Baker | 252 |
| | Trying to See the Light / James Arthur Baldwin | 253 |
| | Peace and Affirmation Prayer / Johnnie Colemon | 254 |
| | Lord, I'm Willing / Genna Rae McNeil | 256 |
| | Plea for Divine Presence / J. Alfred Smith, Sr | 257 |
| | Altar Prayer / Jeremiah Wright, Jr. | 258 |
| | O God of Love, Power and Justice / James Alexander Forbes, Jr. | 260 |
| | Dear God, If You Please / Matthew L. Watley | 262 |
| | Dear God, My Son Prays / William Donnel Watley | 263 |
| | O God, Death Is All Around / William Donnel Watley | 264 |
| | O God, I Get So Tired of Racism Wherever I Go / William Donnel Watley | 266 |
| | I Call Upon Your Name, Lord Jesus / Leroy Davis | 267 |
| | We Need Thee, Lord Jesus, As Never Before / Fred C. Lofton | 269 |
| | Pastor's Prayer for a Son on Drugs / Lloyd Preston Terrell | 271 |
| | Pastor's Prayer for Those in Prison / Lloyd Preston Terrell | 272 |
| | I Must Tell Jesus / Nancy Lynne Westfield | 273 |
| | Prayer for Liberation That Leads to Liberating Love / Frank Madison Reid III | 276 |
| | Lenten Prayer (1994) / Obie Wright, Jr. | 277 |
| | Why, Jesus?! (1989) / Jeff Stetson | 280 |
| | Afterword: A Scholar's Benediction / James Melvin Washington | 283 |
| | Glossary of Terms | 311 |
