Praying with the Book of Common Prayer…Showcase for Scripture

One of my goals and desires this year is to spend time worshipping and praying with the various prayer books. I am using the book, Praying with the Church by Scot McKnight, as my introduction guide in exploring these prayer books (See post below). I am beginning with The Book of Common Prayer, which comes from the Anglican Church and dates back to 1549. The first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer wrote this prayer book to provide an orderly way of praying and reading Scripture. The Morning and Evening Prayers and other liturgies are deeply rooted in the rhythms and traditions of Jesus, which includes the Psalms, Scriptures, and the Lord’s Prayer.

At the time it was originally written in the 16th century most people did not own or read the Bible for themselves. So, one of the goals was to bring people to read scripture for themselves. Through the prayer book, Cranmer brought every church in England to the Bible daily through morning and evening prayers. As I have been praying with the BCP this past month, I have noticed that the prayers, collects, and canticles are written in the plural, using “us” and “we.” They are designed to be prayed together, in a community of faith. While I have been using Morning Prayers privately, I am reminded that I join with other saints, past and present, around the world who pray these same prayers. Hence, the “Common” in The Book of Common Prayer.

The BCP has gone through several revisions since the 16th century. There is an English Anglican version and a U.S. Episcopal version. The prayer book itself is a little complicated to navigate at first. It requires a lot of bookmarks to reference back and forth through the readings and prayers. Thankfully, for those of us new to the BCP there are some web sites that simplify it and pull it all together. I have especially found this Daily Office prayer site helpful….I have also added the link to my sidebar. http://www.missionstclare.com/english/index.html

The Morning Prayers can take awhile, so I select to meditate and pray just some of the scriptures and prayers. I am now focusing on the Psalm and Gospel readings of the day. I am still exploring and familiarizing myself with the many prayers and collects. I am finding them more and more meaningful as they grow more familiar and instill in my mind and heart. I plan to continue in the BCP up until Ash Wednesday. Then I will continue my journey in exploring the prayer books with The Divine Hours during Lent and Eastertide.

N.T. Wright says of the BCP, “that of the Anglican Communion, the regular offices of Morning and Evening Prayer are, in all kinds of ways, ‘showcases for scripture.’ That is, they do with scripture (by use of prayer, music, and response) what a well-organized exhibition does with a great work of art: They prepare us for it, they enable us to appreciate it fully, and they give us and opportunity to meditate further on it.”

Showcase for Scripture! I love that illustration for the BCP and other liturgy!