Table Of ContentPrayers of Great
Traditions
A Daily Office
Prayers of Great
Traditions
A Daily Office
Christopher J. Voke
First published in Great Britain 2013
This collection and orginal material © Christopher J. Voke, 2013
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Contents
Introduction vii
1 Prayers from the Old and New Testament 1
2 Prayers from the words of Jesus 5
3 Prayers from The Apostolic Constitutions 9
4 Prayers of Ephrem the Syrian 13
5 Prayers of John Chrysostom 17
6 and 7 Prayers of Augustine of Hippo 22
8 Benedictine prayer 30
9 Franciscan prayer 34
10 and 11 Prayers of Julian of Norwich 38
12 Prayers of Martin Luther 46
13 and 14 Prayers of Lancelot Andrewes 50
15 and 16 Prayers of William Laud 60
17 and 18 Prayers of Jeremy Taylor 68
19 and 20 Prayers of John Wesley 76
vi Contents
21 and 22 Prayers of Charles Spurgeon 85
23 Prayers of Søren Kierkegaard 94
24 Celtic Prayers from Carmina Gadelica 98
25 and 26 Prayers of Karl Barth 104
27 Celtic Prayers from Northumbria 112
28 Prayers inspired by Creation 118
Psalms 122
A bible reading plan 141
The sources 155
Acknowledgements 163
Notes 164
Introduction
Meeting with God in daily private prayer has always been a vital
habit for the Christian disciple. Jesus’ example, each morning alone
with the Father, and his instruction ‘go into your room, shut the door
and pray to your Father in secret’ stands as the model for Christian
private prayer. A daily time with God is still as important as ever for
a Christian to rise to the challenge of our time, or to face the personal
pressures of suffering and temptation. This book provides a ‘Daily
Office’ for personal prayer, morning and evening, in 28 forms.
Forms for daily prayer have been used for most of Christian history,
drawing on the Jewish synagogue liturgy of psalms and prayers. Such
practice has been called The Daily Office, The Divine Hours, Forms of
Prayer and in other traditions The Quiet Time, or more simply ‘daily
devotions’. Early in the story of Christian monastic communities hours
for prayer and psalm singing over the whole day and night developed
into The Daily Office. The Office was sometimes adapted for the personal
use of those outside the monasteries. In the period of the Reformation the
practice of individual private prayer, especially in the morning, developed
substantially and a number of leading figures wrote out Forms of Prayer
to encourage discipline and to illustrate method. Many such books exist
today designed to assist private prayer, while some traditions commend
free and unwritten daily prayer, particularly in the Pentecostal and other
nonconformist churches. The two approaches are not in conflict however.
viii Prayers of Great Traditions
These 28 forms of prayer for morning and evening have been drawn
from Daily Office material and later prayers of individuals. They
represent almost every century of the Christian story. The material has
been adapted, retaining the mood, sense and underlying theology of
the original while removing archaic phrases and repetition.
The sources are largely from works that were created for private
rather than public prayer. Others, such as those from Karl Barth, are
taken from public prayers. Some are newly translated, and most have
been rewritten and shortened to make them of practical use today.
Cameos of the authors and sources may be found on pages 177–84.
The daily structure
The daily pattern is:
a. Preparation: praise, penitence and psalms for the day.
b. The Word of God: prayer for help, set readings and a creedal
response.
c. Prayers: in four basic sections (for myself and family, for the
community, for the church, for the world) with the Lord’s
Prayer.
d. Conclusion: looking to the future and eternity.
Psalm and Bible readings are the foundation of The Daily Office and
should always be included, even if other prayers are omitted. The 28
psalms on pages 147–64 are newly translated for this book and will
serve when travelling, or if no Bible is available. For each evening
office, when longer readings may be undesirable, a sentence for
meditation is taken from these psalms. Most people have their own
plan for Psalm and Bible reading, but a lectionary covering the whole
Bible is provided on pages 165–76.
Introduction ix
How to use the forms of prayer
For prayer
These forms are written for you to pray, not simply to read; there is a
considerable difference. They are a resource with one purpose only;
to enable you as a Christian believer to engage with God privately,
deeply and regularly. If they do not serve that purpose, then it is
better to look elsewhere for your method in prayer.
Selectively
The morning Office prayers, with psalms and readings, would take 30
minutes to pray. However, while retaining the overall structure, you
might use some of the prayers rather than all of them, perhaps only one
from each section. Space for your own responses is essential and an
ellipsis (. . . . . .) indicates places where you might spend time before God.
The Lord’s Prayer
This may be said each day. With these words the Christian at prayer
stands in the very presence of Jesus, using his phrases and sharing
fellowship with the Father which is only possible through him. Its use
establishes all prayer as joined to his perfect offering and intercession.
According to your need
You might use the 28 forms in rotation, one each day for four weeks
before returning to the beginning. Or you might stay for a time with
one form, using it selectively for a week or more, then moving to the
next. Whenever a particular form ceases to serve true prayer, it is
wise to change the method.
