Using the Book of Common Prayer

Prayer has always come easily to me, and I love to pray. As a young believer I read the Bible and prayed every day. I also met with a small group of women, the five of us gathered and prayed together each week for ten years. I can’t pinpoint when things shifted, but looking back I was becoming disillusioned. There was serious unresolved conflict within our denomination that had grown so intense we could not avoid confrontation. Our family prayed for answers, the depth of the problems and lack of solutions was traumatic for me, I felt devastated.

I started to notice that my prayers felt forced. The place in my heart where prayer usually flowed freely seemed to have turned to dust. My soul felt dry as a desert. I wanted to pray but I didn’t seem able to focus my thoughts. I was also struggling to read my Bible which was something I had done daily for years. Deadness had replaced desire; I was worn down. A friend who attended an Anglican church suggested I try listening to their Sunday messages. It was refreshing and I found the liturgy helped me feel centered again.

Three years later, my husband’s job moved us to Katy, TX.  While looking for a church in Katy, I felt repeatedly drawn to Grace Anglican Community. I thought it was strange that I felt such a pull towards this church and questioned whether my husband who had never been part of a liturgical church, would even consider giving it a try.

I found where the Anglican Church in North America had a copy of their new prayer book online. I had used the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) in the Episcopal church as a child. Now, I wondered where it came from and who had written it. I was shocked to find that it had been around since 1549.

As an experiment, I started reading through the BCP and using it to pray. I thought a lot about the four hundred and seventy years that others had been praying using these same words. Maybe some of them had been spiritually dried up and worn down too. What I wasn’t expecting was that this ancient text would begin healing my soul.  I had been taught that using prayers written by others in some way diminished prayer’s power or didn’t count when talking to God. This was not the experience I was having. So much of the BCP is scripture; these prayers were transforming my spirit, filling the parched places, and renewing my faith.

Our family has been part of Grace Anglican for three years now. Once again, I belong to a group of ladies who meet weekly. One of the things that we do together is pray Evening Prayer from the Daily Office. Praying these timeworn prayers with others has been a beautiful, Spirit-filled experience. I thank God for the refreshing He brought to me through this new way of praying. If using the BCP isn’t a part of the way you pray, I challenge you to try it. The Lord could surprise you as He did me by blowing away the dust and breathing new life into your soul.

Kathy Summers

Grace Anglican Community, Katy, TX