Lenten Journey – Day 16
How many people struggle with prayer? Regularity, discipline, focus, substance – most Christians struggle with at least one of these aspects of prayer. I am no exception. I have documented on this blog my very own struggles. But today I would like to share something that has helped me tremendously in ordering my prayer life.
For about the past 7 years I have been using The Divine Hours for my morning prayers. The Divine Hours is an ancient form of monastic prayer that goes back to our Jewish roots even before Christ. “The Hours” are times of prayer: morning, noon, evening and night (vespers). I am not so disciplined to formally pray four times a day, but I do try to do it every morning.
The prayers for each “hour” are organized following a traditional liturgical format and calendar. Most of the prayers are taken right from the Scriptures and are most efficacious when using the contemplative prayer model of read, reflect, respond, rest.
For instance, this morning one of the prayers was from Psalm 70:5-6 – “Come to me speedily, O God. You are my helper and my deliverer; Lord, do not tarry.” I first read this verse aloud twice. Then I took some time to reflect on what I had read. As I reflected, I thought about all the people I know who are in need of help and deliverance right now. I then responded by praying for every person the Lord brought to mind: “O God, come speedily to [name]. Be his/her helper and deliverer. Do not delay.” Then I took a few moments to rest before going on to the next prayer.
Here are some benefits I’ve found of praying in this way:
- Agenda. Left to my own devices I will inevitably be self-centered in my prayers, thinking “how can I benefit from this time.” My agenda isn’t typically God’s agenda. Praying The Hours is essentially praying the Scriptures. It is praying God’s Word; God’s agenda. My priorities in prayer are re-ordered to better fit God’s priorities.
- Depth. Because of this re-alignment with God’s agenda, my prayers have far more depth, substance and meaning. I am taken far beyond my usual shallow and trite prayers into the depth of God’s waters.
- Listening. Prayer is just as much about listening to God as it is talking to God. The Hours help me to slow down (never easy) and listen to what God is saying to me through His Word.
- Structure. I know some people don’t like structure, especially when it comes to prayer. But most of us can benefit from some structure in our lives and prayer is a great place to start. The Hours follow the same format every day which helps keep me focused even if I mind tends to wander a bit.
- Regularity. There are four hours of prayer, 365 days a year. I can pick the book up at any time on any day and pray with the same agenda, depth and structure as I would any other time. This helps me to be disciplined in my prayers even if I don’t feel like it.
- Head and Heart. Many people react negatively to fixed-hour prayer because they think it doesn’t engage the heart. They’ve been to liturgical churches that seem empty and void of meaning. I’ve been to those churches too, but that doesn’t mean the form isn’t good just because some people don’t know how to maximize it’s potential. It is true that prayer is a matter of the heart and true prayer must be from the heart. But I’ve also found something else to be true. If I only pray from the heart, I may not often pray because my heart doesn’t always feel like praying. But following the format of structure and regularity laid out in The Hours I have found that if the Scriptures I’m praying engage my mind, my heart will sometimes follow.
Prayer for today:
“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”
(Psalm 46:10)
