This is our second post from Daniel’s series on historic forms of prayer. While most of our program will focus on prayers which are highly personal and often spontaneous, we wanted to give some consideration to expressions of prayer which come from historic practices. For centuries, large parts of the Christian world thought of prayers through the lens of liturgical cycles or monastic routines. As Daniel notes in his opening comments, modern people are always tempted to swing back-and-forth between extremes in our approach to worship and prayer. Historical reference helps us to learn from the wisdom of our ancestors and keep our own moment in perspective. (MK)
Day #20: “Prayer in Liturgical Patterns” (Daniel Snoke)
In recent years, some reformed Christians view historical liturgical* patterns like the savior of postmodern worship, while others see evangelical freedom as the only cure for dead liturgies. There are endless books, rules, and traditions when it comes to “liturgical” forms of worship and prayer, and depending on what side of the spectrum you land, you may love or hate various aspects of the neo-liturgical worship in reformed circles.
The most helpful way to view many historical patterns of liturgy are as long-form prayer. No matter what form of prayer you use, there is a pattern. Many protestants have adopted the famous ACTS pattern (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication), and there are many other “short form” patterns that are used in daily worship. However, there are two patterns of prayer that help us participate with God’s grace over longer periods of time. Each have many variations, but as you seek to engage in prayer, consider how you might adopt longer patterns of prayer that add focus and rhythm to your entire life. Two you can consider are:
1) Praying the Hours
The early monastic movement began to set patterns for communal worship and life, and over the centuries we have received what many traditions call the daily office, or praying the hours. They are: middle of the night (Vigils), morning prayer (Lauds), midmorning prayer (Terce), midday prayer (Sext), midafternoon prayer (None), evening prayer (Vespers), and night prayer (Compline). Some traditions provide lectionaries to guide you through reading the Bible, but many variations can be found.
The purpose is not to make a new law for yourself(!), but to view the natural circadian rhythms of the day as part of your constant return to God’s grace. Many of our prayers in the modern world suffer because we forget that we are but creatures, created by God from dust. Praying the hours helps you remember that you are finite and completely reliant on God for every good thing.
During my sabbatical in 2019, my wife Bethany, our 6 month old child, and I went to stay for a few nights with the Cistercian monks at the Abbey of the Genesee. These monks make bread for work and do not leave the monastery. During their daily office, they pray all 150 Psalms each week and pray for the church and the world. Our time there was beautiful, not in the least because God’s Word was richly present through regular prayer. The Psalms spoke clearly in their regular pattern and many of my own songs and prayers were formed through their voice.
Bethany and I struggled at times though, as protestants who are used to viewing our faith through the lens of utility. “Why spend so much time praying if you don’t go and interact with the world around you?” It was not until our drive home when Bethany insightfully reflected, “You know, there is something comforting, knowing that there are people constantly praying for revival in the church and the world.” We realized that the monks’ prayers could easily be seen as a waste of time if our understanding of prayer was only one of utility. I now see that the Psalms gave these monks better insight into the human condition and better words of supplication for deliverance. The Psalms fuel their prayer, not as wasted words, but as words of life. Here is the pattern of Psalms from the Abbey of the Genesee, but there are many others you can find too.
2) Liturgical Calendar
Much like praying the hours, the liturgical calendar seeks to use the natural rhythm of the calendar year to help us remember and participate in the story of God. Many of the famous liturgical seasons (like Lent and Advent) began as ways to catechise new believers before becoming members and getting baptized. Church leaders synchronized these seasons with significant moments in the earthly ministry of Christ as a way of showing their community that discipleship was not just an affiliation, but a walking-with and participation in the life of Christ. In the protestant world, we no longer use these seasons for catechesis, but the underlying goal of walking in union with Christ, through prayer and devotion are still applicable to us today. In this way, we can pray and celebrate our union with Christ with our yearly patterns, not just our daily devotions. There are many ways to engage the church calendar, but you can find a very brief overview from Covenant Seminary HERE.
* Editor’s Note: The word “liturgy” is frequently used to describe the order of a worship service. Churches that have a worship service that is described as “liturgical” would have a more structured worship service. Practically speaking, City Reformed has a style of worship that is moderately liturgical. Our service has some prayers that are written out and which people say together. We have responsive readings which people say together. And we have a standard order to the service, which consists of particular elements which do not change each week. All of those things would cause many people to think of our service as being somewhat liturgical, at least in comparison to a contemporary worship service in which very few items are written down or structured. On the other hand, more highly liturgical churches follow a liturgical calendar. Daniel mentions this in his post. Many churches that have this approach will orient every part of their worship service around the yearly calendar, even the sermon text and all of the Scripture readings. While large parts of contemporary worship have shifted away from liturgy, others have pushed the pendulum back the other direction.