Morning Prayer (Part Two)



Morning Prayer takes about 20-30mins. It follows a set pattern of an introduction prayer, one or more of the Psalms, an Old Testament reading and New Testament reading, a couple of songs from the Bible (canticles), and then intercessions - for the world, the Church, our communities and the day ahead. In some churches they might add a song. If I'm praying Morning Prayer at home I sometimes add a modern Christian song that I listen to off Youtube. Some of the words of Morning Prayer change depending on what day of the week it is, or what season of the year it is (Advent, Lent, Easter etc.). That helps us even more to meditate on different themes over the course of the year.

My personal feeling is that because there's a kind of formality about Morning Prayer (although there's nothing wrong with you praying it on your sofa in your slippers with a cup of coffee), we also need a time each day when we praise God in our own words and talk intimately and informally with God about our own spiritual life and what's on our hearts. Personally I feel the best pattern is to combine Morning Prayer or Evening Prayer with a more informal time of prayer each day that focuses more on our own personal walk with God. I like the Daily Examen that I mention in another post...

You can buy a book called Common Worship Daily Prayer that has Morning and Evening Prayer written out in it. If you use that book (see the photo above) you also need a lectionary and a Bible with you so you can look up the passages for that day, then read them.

Alternatively (and much more easily) you can just go to this website which inserts the right Bible readings for you and makes sure you're reading the prayers for the correct day of the week or season: http://daily.commonworship.com/daily.cgi? or you can download the app here: https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-worship/join-us-in-daily-prayer.aspx