Prayers of Great Traditions: A Daily Office PDF
Preview Prayers of Great Traditions: A Daily Office
Prayers of Great Traditions A Daily Office Prayers of Great Traditions A Daily Office Christopher J. Voke First published in Great Britain 2013 This collection and orginal material © Christopher J. Voke, 2013 No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Every reasonable effort has been made to trace copyright holders of material reproduced in this book, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the Publishers would be glad to hear from them. A Continuum book Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square London WC1B 3DP www.bloomsbury.com Bloomsbury Publishing, London, Berlin, New York and Sydney A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 9781408187319 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Typeset by Fakenham Prepress Solutions, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 8NN Contents Introduction vii 1 Prayers from the Old and New Testament 1 2 Prayers from the words of Jesus 5 3 Prayers from The Apostolic Constitutions 9 4 Prayers of Ephrem the Syrian 13 5 Prayers of John Chrysostom 17 6 and 7 Prayers of Augustine of Hippo 22 8 Benedictine prayer 30 9 Franciscan prayer 34 10 and 11 Prayers of Julian of Norwich 38 12 Prayers of Martin Luther 46 13 and 14 Prayers of Lancelot Andrewes 50 15 and 16 Prayers of William Laud 60 17 and 18 Prayers of Jeremy Taylor 68 19 and 20 Prayers of John Wesley 76 vi Contents 21 and 22 Prayers of Charles Spurgeon 85 23 Prayers of Søren Kierkegaard 94 24 Celtic Prayers from Carmina Gadelica 98 25 and 26 Prayers of Karl Barth 104 27 Celtic Prayers from Northumbria 112 28 Prayers inspired by Creation 118 Psalms 122 A bible reading plan 141 The sources 155 Acknowledgements 163 Notes 164 Introduction Meeting with God in daily private prayer has always been a vital habit for the Christian disciple. Jesus’ example, each morning alone with the Father, and his instruction ‘go into your room, shut the door and pray to your Father in secret’ stands as the model for Christian private prayer. A daily time with God is still as important as ever for a Christian to rise to the challenge of our time, or to face the personal pressures of suffering and temptation. This book provides a ‘Daily Office’ for personal prayer, morning and evening, in 28 forms. Forms for daily prayer have been used for most of Christian history, drawing on the Jewish synagogue liturgy of psalms and prayers. Such practice has been called The Daily Office, The Divine Hours, Forms of Prayer and in other traditions The Quiet Time, or more simply ‘daily devotions’. Early in the story of Christian monastic communities hours for prayer and psalm singing over the whole day and night developed into The Daily Office. The Office was sometimes adapted for the personal use of those outside the monasteries. In the period of the Reformation the practice of individual private prayer, especially in the morning, developed substantially and a number of leading figures wrote out Forms of Prayer to encourage discipline and to illustrate method. Many such books exist today designed to assist private prayer, while some traditions commend free and unwritten daily prayer, particularly in the Pentecostal and other nonconformist churches. The two approaches are not in conflict however. viii Prayers of Great Traditions These 28 forms of prayer for morning and evening have been drawn from Daily Office material and later prayers of individuals. They represent almost every century of the Christian story. The material has been adapted, retaining the mood, sense and underlying theology of the original while removing archaic phrases and repetition. The sources are largely from works that were created for private rather than public prayer. Others, such as those from Karl Barth, are taken from public prayers. Some are newly translated, and most have been rewritten and shortened to make them of practical use today. Cameos of the authors and sources may be found on pages 177–84. The daily structure The daily pattern is: a. Preparation: praise, penitence and psalms for the day. b. The Word of God: prayer for help, set readings and a creedal response. c. Prayers: in four basic sections (for myself and family, for the community, for the church, for the world) with the Lord’s Prayer. d. Conclusion: looking to the future and eternity. Psalm and Bible readings are the foundation of The Daily Office and should always be included, even if other prayers are omitted. The 28 psalms on pages 147–64 are newly translated for this book and will serve when travelling, or if no Bible is available. For each evening office, when longer readings may be undesirable, a sentence for meditation is taken from these psalms. Most people have their own plan for Psalm and Bible reading, but a lectionary covering the whole Bible is provided on pages 165–76. Introduction ix How to use the forms of prayer For prayer These forms are written for you to pray, not simply to read; there is a considerable difference. They are a resource with one purpose only; to enable you as a Christian believer to engage with God privately, deeply and regularly. If they do not serve that purpose, then it is better to look elsewhere for your method in prayer. Selectively The morning Office prayers, with psalms and readings, would take 30 minutes to pray. However, while retaining the overall structure, you might use some of the prayers rather than all of them, perhaps only one from each section. Space for your own responses is essential and an ellipsis (. . . . . .) indicates places where you might spend time before God. The Lord’s Prayer This may be said each day. With these words the Christian at prayer stands in the very presence of Jesus, using his phrases and sharing fellowship with the Father which is only possible through him. Its use establishes all prayer as joined to his perfect offering and intercession. According to your need You might use the 28 forms in rotation, one each day for four weeks before returning to the beginning. Or you might stay for a time with one form, using it selectively for a week or more, then moving to the next. Whenever a particular form ceases to serve true prayer, it is wise to change the method.
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