The Ash Wednesday Gospel reading is from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount where he discusses the practice of almsgiving, prayer and fasting. Jesus’ assumption is that his followers will give, pray, and fast because he does not say “if you pray” but “when you pray.” Nevertheless, if we are honest, our prayer life can often be anemic, and in the Ash Wednesday Litany of Penitence we confessed “our negligence in prayer and worship” (BCP 268). So, Lent is a suitable time for a new beginning in prayer.
The best place for us as Episcopalians to start is with the Book of Common Prayer, BCP for short. It is “common prayer” – something that is a part of our common life in community, even if we engage in private. In the classic formulation there are three aspects of prayer based on the BCP:
The Daily Office, from the Latin officium meaning a duty, service, or ceremony. It is a service of prayer focused on God based in the Psalms, scriptures and prayers of the church.
Holy Eucharist, our standard service of worship on Sundays centered in the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Daily Devotion, while not specifically in the Prayer Book, it grows out of living out the prayer book tradition. The Collect for Guidance (BCP 100) well expresses it where we ask God to “guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you.”
For most of us, developing a habit of prayer requires both the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the discipline of the will. If you would like to develop a habit of prayer, here are some suggestions:
Start small. I suggest the Our Father (Lord’s Prayer) morning and evening. The Our Father is the center of all the daily offices. You can even pray this while in the car on your commute.
Do what you can – do not feel compelled to read all the Psalms and Scriptures of the daily office. Additionally, you do not need to pray all four offices of Morning, Noon, Evening, and Night prayer. Doing something is better than trying to do too much.
Use one the wonderful websites and apps available to start a habit of prayer. My favorites are listed below.
Forward Movement offers all the Daily Offices online. You can customize your preferences, download a daily prayer app, and even listen to podcasts of the daily prayer services.
Mission St Clare offers the Daily Offices and has links to devotional opportunities like Sunday Evensong from the BBC.
St Bede’s Breviary was one of the first to develop an online form for the Daily Office. It is customizable and is particularly appropriate for those who want to include Marian Devotion as part of their prayer practice.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions about developing a practice of prayer. Through daily prayer give thanks to God for the great benefits we have received, we give him praise, we hear the holy Word, and ask God for those things that are necessary for life and salvation (BCP 41).
May God bless you on your journey of faith!
Jerry+
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