Prayer at Home
Wondering how you can add to your prayer life at home? Here are a few resources that are easy to use that can serve as an entrance for you into a deeper life of prayer. Jesus invites us to pray without ceasing. And Archbishop Desmond Tutu is often credited with describing each day as a conversation with God. There are also many other, more contemplative ways to pray. Our faith, like many others, encourages us to enter a mediative state, to be aware of our bodies, our breath, the spark of the divine within us.
If your day doesn't yet feel like a conversation with God, or if you're not sure you know how to enter that meditative space - that's okay! Here are some resources that might help you and your family get started.
Some ways to settle in and structure your prayer:
Consider lighting a candle before you begin, something to help you focus.
Settle yourself into a comfortable position. Breathe deeply. Be aware of your body position.
Begin and/or end your time of prayer with something familiar, an anchor: the Lord's Prayer, use prayer beads, the 23rd Psalm, etc.
Consider structuring your prayers in this way:- Become aware of God's presence, or ask God to draw near to you.
- Review the day, give thanks (as best you can!) for what's been
- Pick one thing from the day to reflect on specifically; maybe it's something to give thanks for, something to ask for, something you're hoping for.
- Pay attention to how you're feeling, to how you're sitting, to your breathing.
- Look forward to tomorrow. What will the day be like? What are you hoping for? Who do you want to pray for? Ask God to stay with you.
Apps, Websites, and the Book of Common Prayer
Ceaseless is an app that will help you to pray. It will encourage you to pray for people you love and for the whole world.
Did you know there are short devotions in our Book of Common Prayer? These simple ways to pray begin on page 136. Don't have a BCP at home? No problem: you can use The (Online) Book of Common Prayer anywhere. Read these short devotions out loud in the morning, midday, or evening.
D365 is a website that offers really wonderful daily devotions. You can easily click through a series of prayers and reflections set up for each day. Start or end your day with prayer and scripture.
If you want to do a little reading about forms of contemplative, meditative prayer in the Christian tradition, you might start here. And if you have questions or want to know more, Marissa is happy to help!
For Families
Faith5 will help you incorporate faith into your bedtime routine for 5-15 minutes a night. Over time, Faith5 helps enrich communication, deepen understanding, aid sleep, and promise mental, physical and spiritual health.
The five steps are:
- Share your highs and lows
- Read a Bible verse or story
- Talk about how the Bible might relate to your highs and lows
- Pray for one another's high and lows
- Bless one another
Tucked In: Bedtime Stories and Prayers with Episcopalians and others is a Facebook group that does live-streaming of picture books and bedtime stories with faith themes.
With gratitude to Sharon Pearson for her help gathering some of these resources!
Tags: Adult Formation