A Season of Rest and Prayer

For Reflection Roundup each week, we gather news stories, notable pieces, and other important items for Christian leaders today. As always, listening broadly draws together differing perspectives from which we can learn but may not concur.

This week being ACU’s Spring Break, we take a different rhythm. Here are five communal prayers worth meditating upon this week.

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If what the Breastplate of St. Patrick claims is true, then both a physical body and a congregational body can rest in its truth.

1. We could all use some rest; both our physical bodies and our congregational bodies experience exhaustion. The prayer of St. Patrick, or St. Patrick’s Breastplate, reminds us of the grace of Christ’s presence. Here is a portion:

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.

2. The Book of Common Prayer, compiled in 1549 by Thomas Cranmer, the first Protestant archbishop of Canterbury, gives Christians all over the world the ability to pray powerfully using common language. This unifying element, participation in liturgy, is not to be underestimated. Considering the various time zones around the world, “praying the hours” (roughly estimated at 6:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., noon, 3:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m., and midnight) offers the true ability to communally “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). From the 4th and latest revision dated 1979, here is a portion of a confessional prayer:

Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep, we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts, we have offended against you, we have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we should not have done. O Lord, have mercy upon us, spare we who confess our faults, restore the penitent, according to your promises declared to us in Christ Jesus our Lord; and grant, most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may live godly, righteous, and sober lives to the glory of your holy Name. Amen. (Morning Prayer I)

3. A Lenten prayer for mercy from Ps. 51 has been set to various melodies by numerous artists. The Zoe Group offers “Have Mercy On Me, O God,” a particularly meditative rendition that characterizes the hallowed sharing Christ imparts to our very souls, hollow with want for mercy. Here is the portion of the psalm as utilized in this particular song:

Have mercy on me O God, according to your steadfast love. According to your great compassion, blot out my many transgressions and wash away my iniquity. Cleanse me from sin.

4. Often short prayers constructed of only a few sentences can serve to center our hearts on momentary blessings, such as encounters with wildlife, that awaken our senses to the wildness of our God. One such unexpected rendezvous surprised me recently while driving home: a silver fox crossed my path. This beautiful creature paused and actually watched me, leaving me feeling as if I’d tread in on its world rather than the other way round. Every Moment Holy, compiled by Douglas McKelvey and Rabbit Room Press, offers many prayers of differing lengths for life’s common moments, including this simple one called “Upon an Unexpected Sighting of Wildlife”:

O Christ who sustains all wild creatures, care also for me, thy child.

Rabbit Room Press recently published a second volume that offers liturgies specifically tailored to death, grief, and hope.

5. Prayer can be playful. This semester, some first-year university students I hang out with have taught me about malaphors. Good luck getting out of that wormhole if you dive in! You’ll be giggling and making up new ones for weeks, which is what we did, but with Scripture-prayer. Similar to Houston Heflin’s guide to breath prayer, Pray Like You Breathe, we took two lines and paired them together. Students discovered Ps. 23 and Matt. 6:9-13 (the Lord’s Prayer) made effective malaphor prayers. This Lent, consider taking two favorite Scriptures, meditatively mashing them together, and praying them on repeat. For instance:

Spirit who works in me to help me want and be able to do what pleases God, kindly lead me to repentance. (Phil. 2:13, Rom. 2:4)