Jun 10, 2010
Two weeks ago, I spent four days at a monastery on an island just off the coast of Mystic, CT with eighteen other church leaders. Our group was diverse–an Anglican priest, missionaries from Europe, a Korean pastor from Canada, a Bible translator, a Navy chaplain and pastors from Presbyterian, Reformed, Lutheran and Southern Baptist denominations. During our retreat, we daily observed six of the eight Divine Offices of monastic prayer life–praying together once every two-to-three hours throughout the day. Each participant was responsible for leading one of the times of prayer, and it was absolutely soul refreshing to worship Jesus from the perspective of many different Christian traditions.
While such a rigorous community prayer life is virtually impossible to maintain in our society apart from joining a monastery or convent, it is still important to “steal away” and pray throughout the day. I discovered this personally as in preparation for this retreat I spent the better part of this winter praying three times a day at regular times. Sometimes my prayers lasted 15 minutes, sometimes they lasted almost an hour as I integrated my LTG reading into that time. What I learned from these experiences is the importance of keeping Christ in the forefront of my heart and mind and practicing his presence throughout the day. Should you be interested in experimenting with such a rhythm of prayer, there are many resources available that are helpful in rooting you in the rich tradition of liturgical prayer. However, you do not necessarily need to invest financially in them–you can also grab your journal, Bible and pen and set an alarm or reminder to go off at the hour of prayer.
Maybe you pray the Lord’s Prayer over lunch or just before bed. Perhaps you integrate your LTG reading into one of your prayer times like I do. However you choose to “pray continuously,” consider involving others to share the journey with you. (Should you be interested in investing in quality, trusted resources, I can offer you a few suggestions.)
Grace and Peace,
Adam Feldman, Lead Pastor
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