The Gospel According to Spiritism: prayers by Allan Kardec

The Gospel According to Spiritism, published by Allan Kardec in 1864, is the third work of the Kardecian Pentateuch. Its purpose is to show that the moral teachings of the Gospel are compatible with the Spiritist revelation.

Historical context

Allan Kardec (1804-1869), born Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail, was a French educator who applied the scientific method to 19th-century mediumistic phenomena.

Chapter XXVIII: Collection of prayers

The final chapter contains prayers "dictated by the Spirits on various occasions." Kardec clarifies that "the Spirits never prescribe any absolute formula of prayer."

Five categories:

I. General prayers: Lord's Prayer, Spiritist meetings, for mediums. II. Prayers for oneself: guardian angels, turning away bad spirits, correcting defects, resisting temptation, afflictions, danger, death. III. Prayers for others: the afflicted, enemies, children, the dying. IV. Prayers for those no longer on earth: the recently deceased, suicides, criminals, hardened spirits. V. Prayers for the sick and obsessed: physical healing and spiritual liberation.

"The principal quality of a prayer is clarity. It should be simple and concise, without useless phraseology." — Allan Kardec