The Early Church has furnished us with a wellspring of liturgical resources. Studies in this area have seen a minor renaissance as modern Christians, particularly Evangelicals, have expressed a desire for a living tradition to hold on to. [1] They desire for this tradition to not simply be the accepted beliefs and practices of those…
Let Us Kneel Before The Lord: The Biblical Basis for Kneeling in Worship
Anglicans kneel a lot: in prayer, in confession, and at communion. We often surprise visitors from other traditions with our frequent kneeling. Why do we kneel so often? In short, kneeling is Biblical Worship, Bodily Worship, and Beautiful Worship. Kneeling as Biblical Worship The Bible associates kneeling with worship, especially prayers of confession, thanksgiving, and petition. Kneeling in the Old Testament Consider…
Getting Started with the Daily Office: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Letโs face it: to the modern ear, โDaily Officeโ sounds more like your workplace than your prayer routine. However, while this โofficeโ is not the workplace that it sounds like, it is, in a certain sense, a task or, more appropriately, a vocation. The odd name comes from the Latin officium divinum, which means โdivine…
Why Do Christians Call God Father?
To call God “Father” is one of the great privileges of being a Christian. But this can be confusing to the world and even to some inside the church. Why do Christians call God “Father” when he is not our biological dad? The Child Calls to His Father The power of the word “Father” is…
The Liturgy Will Pray for You: A Journey Through Grief with the Book of Common Prayer
I did not become a Christian in a liturgical tradition, but I was introduced to liturgical prayer and worship early in my walk. I found liturgy especially helpful in giving me words and phrases to cling to when my own prayers felt โstuck.โ After 21 years as a Christian, shifting into the Anglican tradition, and…
Midday Prayer: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Our days are busy. Life is a nonstop hustle from the time we finish breakfast until we get home from work or school. Lunch itself may be eaten on the go. In the midst of it all, we often neglect Paul’s instruction to โpray without ceasingโ (1 Thes. 5:17). However, Midday Prayer is here to…
When Two or Three Are Gathered: Reflections on the Prayer of St. John Chrysostom
Introduction Few preachers in the Patristic Church are as admired and enduring as John Chrysostom.[1] Born in A.D. 349, John developed a love for the written word that his mentor, Diodore, heavily influenced. In response to the rising trend of allegorical interpretation, Diodore and his apprentice emphasized that the Bible should be taken in its…
Compline: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Compline as Night Prayer Many of us are accustomed to saying a quick prayer before bed. The church has a formal tradition of doing this called Compline, the final of four prayer times collectively called the Daily Office in the Book of Common Prayer. Unlike the two principal offices, Morning and Evening Prayer, Compline (as…
Evening Prayer: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Evening Prayer can be a great way to transition from the busy rhythms of work or school into a more restful, reflective last chapter of the day. Multiple authors have explained the value of such prayer for finding God, emotional stability, and even verse memorization. Like all our offices of daily prayer, it can be…
Let All Mobile Phones Keep Silence
The Prayer Book has seen many revisions: in America alone, there are the 1789, 1892, 1928, 1979, and now 2019 editions. Some have suggested that the next step should be to phase out printed copies of the Prayer Book altogether and replace them with an all-digital format that worshippers can access on their smartphones. I…