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Prayers/Liturgies

Prayer has been an interesting part of my walk with the Lord. I must confess in complete honesty, I believed the prayers the Lord wanted to hear, or what I would’ve probably described as “Spirit-filled” prayer, would come from the moment. My prayer always needed to be “straight from the heart”, unhindered by written words which would never fully articulate my prayer to God (as if I could ever articulate my own prayers perfectly by my own power).

Then I was given a copy of Every Moment Holy by Douglas McKelvey when I was 18. I had been around the book before. My dad had a big copy of it and I remember him reading it at certain points. I needed a reminder of home at the time so I opened it up, began reading, and within minutes my eyes were full of tears. I was broken apart by the beauty of the liturgy and found myself praying to God through the words on the page. I remember sitting in Newborn Brew and feeling the comfort of the Lord arrive within me as I prayed. It was unbelievable to me.

Thus began a (still very new) personal journey of uncovering the wonderful, life-giving goodness which can exist in liturgy and written prayer. I realized the Psalms aren’t just meant to be poetry (they are), but are beautiful, rich prayers first and foremost. I discovered the wealth of truth and goodness which exists in the Book of Common Prayer. I began attending Church of the Cross, a wonderful body of believers who follow a liturgical worship style.

But most of all, liturgy is redefining the way I think about and practice prayer. Slowly I believe my prayer life is becoming less about me, and yet paradoxically is becoming more personal. It’s becoming less about saying the right words and more about allowing God to fill the hollowness of my heart time and time again. By no means am I perfect at it (if I ever say I am, then I am sorely mistaken), but I do hope I’m moving in the right direction.

As apart of this transformation of my prayer life, I’ve begun writing prayers of my own. It’s been a really grounding practice which requires me to pray as I write. I wanted to share some of what I’ve written not only as something which may be helpful for whoever may read it, but also as a way to track the progression of my own journey of coming before the Lord with nothing but my problems, my sin, my quandaries, my awe, and my praise.

If you find yourself praying with one of these prayers, my hope is that they’re helpful to you in some small way and edifying to the Lord. To God be the glory. Amen.

P.S. Beware of theological missteps. I am no theology expert. I’m just a christian trying to figure it all out and sharing along the way. Which I hope is worthwhile.