Prayer
What is prayer and how should we practice it? It was suggested at this week’s Parish Council that we might all be helped if we learned more about prayer. Since the original purpose of these Anglicanism 101 handouts is to introduce and encourage the daily practice of praying Compline daily, as a community wherever we find ourselves, this lesson will discuss prayer and Compline.

According to The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, prayer

. . . rests on two foundations which give it its specific character: belief in the transcendent and personal nature of the God who is revealed in the Bible as Lord of History and Creator of the World, and the acceptance of the intimate relation of God and humanity disclosed by the atoning work of the Incarnate Christ.

Prayer is the utterance of one who stands in the presence of the Holy.

Most major religions involve prayer in one way or another. It may be structured such as in Morning and Evening prayer, the Eucharist or Grace over meals. All said and carried out with reverence and certain physical gestures, such as, genuflecting, crossing ourselves and kneeling or bowing our heads. While Sufis might whirl, Quakers keep silent, Hindus may sing mantras and other Muslims may both bow and prostrate themselves.

A variety of body postures may be taken: sitting, standing (as many do to receive the bread and wine of Communion), prostrating oneself on the floor, with eyes open, or closed, with hands folded or placed together in the ‘orans’ position. Prayers may be read from a book of prayers, or shared extemporaneously. Sometimes prayer does not need to be spoken aloud. As Paul writes in his Letter to the Romans,” We do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.” Confidence in prayer is a Christian hallmark and some have said that Anglican Spirituality grows out of liturgical prayer. What began with Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer continues, for us, in the Book of Alternative Services. As we regularly worship in community or alone, it may not seem showy or dramatic, but there is an abundance of imagery and a familiarity that comes from continual repetition of the order that comes from the daily office. Our prayers become rooted in our lives and therefore we become rooted in Christ as he is rooted in us. The Scriptures give us the poetry of our faith encouraging us to see God in all life and all creation. Just as Paul encouraged the Thessalonians, to “Pray constantly” (1 Thes.5:17), we are also encouraged to pray constantly for all things.

Prayer is not a cop-out from acting on issues in the world. Prayer is a request for guidance as to how to respond to the world and the problems that humans have created in it. The power of prayer does not depend on how long, or how loud one prays but how regularly one prays.

We introduced Compline as the common element, which will call all of the parish to worship wherever they find themselves. The form it takes which is similar to both Morning and Evening Prayer.

The service begins with a Sentence that summons us to become aware of God’s presence and to help:

The Lord Almighty grant us a peaceful night and a perfect end.

If there are two people doing this prayer together, they might wish to do the service responsively.

First: Our help is in the name of the Lord.

Response: The Maker of heaven and earth.

Now is an appropriate time to take a few moments of silence to reflect on our behavior in the day that has past.

If there is more than one person, you may wish to begin by saying:

Let us confess our sins to God

After a moment to pray on your shortcomings and your thanksgivings, you may say together:

Almighty God our heavenly Father,

We have sinned against you, through our own fault, in thought, word and deed, and in what we have left undone.

For the sake of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, forgive us all our offences;

And grant that we may serve you in newness of life, to the glory of your Name.

Amen (The form of the closure of the prayers in most Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican worship is an invocation of Jesus name, e.g. In Jesus Name, Your Son who lives and reigns with you, in the name of the Holy Trinity and Amen, which comes from a Hebrew adverb roughly translated as, “so be it”.)

The response is made by the leader of the worship:

May the Almighty God grant us forgiveness of all our sins, and the grace and comfort of the Holy

This is followed by the reading of a Psalm, or Psalms. How these are chosen is explained on page 450 of our Book of Alternative Services. Briefly, the Daily Office lectionary is arranged in a two year cycle, with Year 1 beginning when Advent Sunday is in a year that can be divided by two. Therefore, beginning on this Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, we find ourselves in Year 1.

If you have a book at home you can look for yourselves how to use the readings.
For our purposes, the readings for the Office of Compline for this week are:

Sunday evening Psalm 111, 112, 113 with the Gospel reading being Matthew 25:1-13

Monday 4, 7 Luke 20: 1-8

Tuesday 10, 11 Luke 20: 9-18

Wednesday 12, 13, 14 Luke 20:19-26

Thursday 18:21-50 Luke 20:27-40

Friday 22 Luke 20:41-21:4

Saturday 110:1-5, 116, 117 Luke 21

The Psalm ends with either the Psalm prayer in the BAS or Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen

The reading of the Psalm may be followed by the appointed Gospel reading from Scripture or another that is suitable to your life at that time and the season of the Church.

For example: Jeremiah 14:9, 22; Matthew 11:28-30, Hebrews 13: 202-21 or 1 Peter 5:8-9a.

If you wish, you can include a hymn such as Before the Ending of the Day or
Oh Gracious Light, Lord Jesus Christ.

Then follows some time for Intercessions and Thanksgivings.
These may be made on behalf of:

The Church

All those in authority

The world and the local community

All those in need and the departed

These prayers are encapsulated in the prayer our Saviour taught us: Our Father . . .

This is followed by a Collect (remember, the Collect gathers all our prayers for this day into one brief prayer).

For example:

Oh Lord lighten our darkness that by your great mercy you will defend us from all dangers of the night and bring us at the last into your eternal kingdom, through Jesus Christ. Amen

Or

Be present, O merciful God, and protect us through the hours of this night, so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this life may rest in your eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Verse: Let us bless the Lord.

Response: Thanks be to God

All of this is prayer. Each time we intentionally, or not, present or offer ourselves to be in the presence of God, we are. Each time we are caught in one of those moments in life for which we are not prepared, ask and God is there. God is present at all times. So, prayer is an offering of life in word, in deed and in thought.

Amen.