One of the highlights of my vacation was practicing the discipline of fixed hour prayer using Phyllis Tickle’s The Divine Hours. I’ve been dipping into fixed hour prayer on and off for three years now and I’ve found it to be one of the more helpful disciplines to me. I like the rhythm it gives to my day. I like the sense of connection I feel to the church at large as I pause during the day to pray prayers that have been prayed by Christians for centuries. If you feel like it’s time to experiment with a new spiritual discipline, I heartily recommend fixed hour prayer, especially for those of us from non-liturgical traditions.
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Raving Liberal!
Praying at set times, NOT as the Spirit moves you?! Heathen! And using pre-written prayers! May the Spiritual Sword have mercy on your soul!
All joking aside, I keep wanting to get into this, but so far haven’t had the discipline. Maybe this book can help.
Thanks for the inspiration and the info,
~gkb
Greetings Br. Wade.
Yes the praying the Hours is a beautiful experince, deeply connecting us with the Ancient Church all the way back into the Temple worship of the Hebrews.
So for me, I find great meaning and depth in the Daily Office, a feeling that this method of prayer connect me to the Saints, and the whole Church. It is like a otherworldly wave of prayer, rythmically washing over the whole world as people all over the planet now and in times past are sending up the same prayers before the Throne.
Wade, if u ever want, we could have lunch and say Noontime prayer sometime. 🙂
?Aperi, Domine, os meum ad benedicendum nomen sanctum
?Open thou, O Lord, my mouth to bless thy holy Name
Wade,
I agree about the Divine Hours; I’ve been using these books (there are three to get you through the year) for the last couple of years. I continue to be blessed by the rhythm of prayer. I also recommend reading through the Psalms. I’ve been following the daily schedule in the Psalter in the Book of Common Prayer, which takes you through all the Psalms every month. I just feel like I can breathe better after each session!
Grace and peace,
Greg
While much of me fights against the idea of discipline, much less its manifestation, I fear I have lost something by not living in a world where the day was divided up into morning, noon, evening, and nighttime prayers. Perhaps those days of yore when we listened for the bells had something with which to commend themselves.
Thanks for the info. I did not know about this book. Life has been such a trainwreck lately. It’s hard to step out of the fracas and yet it is vital.