Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Tuesday Tomes - Christian Prayer Books

Next Sunday I'll be wrapping up my current teaching series at Valley, "Praying with Jesus." In the final sermon I'll be sharing a number of prayers from Christians through the ages. In preparation, I've been going through a number of Christian prayer books that have been important through church history. Here are a few you might be interested in checking out...

The Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle
Tickle has gathered one full week of fixed-hour prayers, providing an ideal companion for travelers, office-workers, people on retreat or pilgrimage, as well as newcomers to this age-old spiritual practice. As Tickle writes in her introduction, "prayer is always a place as well as an action, and the daily offices are like small chapels or wayside stations within the day's courses." Seven of these daily offices are offered for each day of the week, and each office contains the Call to Prayer, the Request for Presence, the Greeting, the Reading, the Gloria, the Psalm, the Small Verse, the Lord's Prayer, the Petition, and the Final Thanksgiving. Tickle draws her texts primarily from the Book of Common Prayer and the writings of the Church Fathers, and includes memorable devotional and meditative poems by Cleland McAfee, Charles Wesley, and others. Tickle also provides a chapter of "Traditional, Seasonal, and Occasional Prayers" in order to accommodate special dates like Advent, Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving; major life-changes such as marriage, birth, death, and illness; and moments of special petition or thanksgiving.

The Book of Common Prayer
This is the standard Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church together with The Psalter or Psalms of David according to use in the Episcopal Church in the United States as authorized in 1979.

The Glenstal Book of Prayer
Reflecting the richness of two ancient prayer traditions: Benedictine and Celtic.This rich, nourishing prayer book draws on the strength of Benedictine and Celtic spirituality. It offers morning and evening prayer, night prayer, prayer for special moments during the day, prayers for special occasions, additional psalms for meditation, and a series of quotations from the Rule of St. Benedict.

Common Prayer: A Litergy for Ordinary Radicals
Common Prayer helps individuals and today’s diverse church pray together across traditions and denominations. With an ear to the particulars of various liturgical prayer traditions, and using an advisory team of liturgy experts, the authors have created a tapestry of prayer that celebrates the best of each tradition. The book also includes tools for prayer scattered throughout to aid those unfamiliar with liturgy and deepen the prayer life of those already familiar with liturgical prayer. It includes a table of days and readings for the morning prayers as well as an annotated list of saints and days to remember. Churches and individuals who desire a deeper prayer life–and those familiar with Shane Claiborne and New Monasticism–will enjoy the tools offered in this book as a fresh take on liturgy.

The Valley of Vision: Puritan Prayers
The strength of Puritan character and life lay in prayer and meditation. In this practice the spirit of prayer was regarded as of first importance and the best form of prayer, for living prayer is the characteristic of genuine spirituality. Yet prayer is also vocal and may therefore on occasions be written. Consequently in the Puritan tradition there are many written prayers and meditations which constitute an important corpus of inspiring devotional literature.

Celtic Daily Prayers
Celtic Daily Prayer is the fruit of the spiritual life of a remarkable community. Its liturgies, prayers, and meditations are drawn from a deep well of spiritual experience that transcends fashion, culture, and denomination. Blending prayer and praise and building upon the ancient wisdom of traditional Celtic Christianity, this prayer book is extraordinarily fresh. At the heart of the life of the Northumbria Community, as well as this book, lies the Daily Office -- morning, noon, and evening prayers and a monthly cycle of meditations for individual or communal use each day. With words drawn from sources such as St. Patrick's Breastplate, Teresa's Bookmark, Columba's Blessing, and the Psalms, this cycle of daily prayers reflects the essential rhythms of life.

My Prayer Book (Concordia)
With more than 200 prayers for Christian living, this book is for family or worship, for marital difficulties, for servicemen or women, for the job, and for the lonely. Includes presentation page and a section on key chapters and stories of the Bible.

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