Restrain these immoderate rains, we humbly beseech thee

I grew up on the Episcopal Church's 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer.  It was the prayer book in use at the parochial school I attended, and our congregation was among the last in the diocese to switch (under protest) to the 1979 revision.

Anyway.  As I watched the news tonight, and saw the grim projections of Gustav's landfall in the Gulf Coast by morning, I recalled a prayer from the 1928 prayer book.  We must have said it countless times in our North Carolina parish; hurricanes and bad storms were not infrequent occurrences in our part of the country. 

It contains good stiff-upper-lip understatement, but gets the point across:

For Fair Weather.

ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech thee, of thy great goodness, to restrain those immoderate rains, wherewith thou hast afflicted us. And we pray thee to send us such seasonable weather, that the earth may, in due time, yield her increase for our use and benefit; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.