Well, I mentioned in my last post that my prayer life sucks. I need to do something about this…it’s unacceptable!

I do appreciate the encouraging comments, and I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one that feels this way, sometimes.

I’ve decided that I’m going to try something. After doing a little bit of research I discovered that there is an ancient practice that goes throughout the history of Christianity…as a matter of fact, it’s nearly as old a spiritual practice as the Eucharist.

Fixed-hour prayer.

I could go into a lot of details, but I’ll spare you my boring diatribe, and recommend a fantastic book: Praying With The Church, by Scot Mcknight.

This book is an absolutely fantastic introduction to the ancient practice of fixed-hour prayer. The author does a fantastic job of discussing the importance of both fixed-hour corporate prayer, and personal private spontaneous prayer.

Here’s a quote from the book that really stuck out to me:

Prayer is both small and private and quiet and alone (like the Portiuncola), and prayer is public and verbal and with others and in the open (like the basilica). Prayer is both private and public, both personal and communal. We may seek individual prayer, but the individual needs to be encompassed by the church in prayer. We need both the personal and the communal–both are good, both are spiritually formative. 

I’ve decided that I’m going to begin observing the morning, evening and nighttime prayers on a daily basis. I’ve purchased a book called The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Winter, and will be following the prayers in the book.

Whenever possible, I will be doing this with other Christians who are also observing the same prayers, and the rest of the time, I will join my brothers and sisters in spirit.

I’m really excited about this, and I would encourage you to consider joining in. I’ll be blogging about what I see happening in my prayer life as I undertake this journey. If you are interested in joining me, I would be happy to consider opening up my home for the actual prayer times. Just let me know!