The Lord Almighty grant us a peaceful night and a perfect end. Amen. 2019 Book of Common Prayer, Compline, p. 57 Thus begins Compline, the final service of the Daily Office. We ask for the grace and peace of God during the long night hours ahead. We ask for “a perfect end.” Then follows a…
Thanksgiving Prayers (Not Just for Thanksgiving Day!)
Thanksgiving is one of the most important kinds of prayer. It’s natural to make petitions, asking God to give us something we lack. But in thanksgiving we thank God for the things we have, acknowledging him as the source of all our blessings. Here we share a number of wonderful Thanksgiving prayers from the Anglican…
Why Do We Kneel in Prayer?
There used to be a time not long ago when pews or sitting furniture of any kind were wholly absent from the sanctuary. Let’s be honest, we’re a bit removed from the ancient traditions of the Church when it comes to furniture and prayer. We now live in an era when comfortable chairs are replacing…
Pastoral Prayer
A priest is to pray frequently. Sometimes it is as a designated or honorary pray-er, as at a church dinner. “Father N., will you bless the food, please?” Anyone could do this, of course, but it often falls to the priest. While it is a token moment, it is also an important one. This serves as…
Cranmer and the Book of Common Prayer
Author and theologian J. I. Packer says of the Book of Common Prayer‘s influence on the British people, Long before the age of fish and chips, the Book of Common Prayer was the Great British invention, nurturing all sorts and conditions of Englishmen and holding the church together with remarkable effectiveness. Before the Book of…
What is a Collect? A Rookie Anglican Guide
As you gather for worship on Sunday, you encounter the Collect for Purity and the Collect of the Day. At Morning or Evening Prayer, you encounter “the Collects.” What are these strange things called “Collects,” and how do you pronounce this word? What is a Collect? A collect is simply a prayer meant to combine…
Meditative Prayer
We have some idea, perhaps, what prayer is, but what is meditation? Well may we ask; for meditation is a lost art today, and Christian people suffer grievously from their ignorance of the practice. Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things…
The Lord’s Prayer
By Winfield Bevins. A continuing series on prayer. Click here to view the rest of these reflections. “While we ordinarily first bring our own needs to God in prayer, and then think of what belongs to God and his interests, the Master reverses the order. First Thy name, Thy kingdom, Thy will; then give us, forgive us,…
