How to Use the Book of Common Prayer to Inspire Your Prayers

Is your daily prayer time structured or more free-form? Do you use a reading list for scripture or daily prayers as inspiration?

The Book of Common Prayer is a great tool for your daily prayers. Its centuries-old prayers provide powerful, lyrical inspiration for your own prayers. The Daily office can give structure to your prayer time. The Lectionary provides a Bible reading plan.

Keep reading to learn how to use the Book of Common Prayer to inspire and guide your daily devotionals. Learn why you’ll want to take a look at this book, even if you’re not Episcopalian – and how it can add depth and power to your prayers.

What is the Book of Common Prayer?

I still remember that eye-opening moment in Senior English class as I waded through the required Shakespeare reading. That moment when I realized how Shakespeare’s writing has become interwoven in our language today. His works are not just great works of historical literature, but part of the fabric of our lives today.

Just look at a few of the common phrases written by Shakespeare which we still use today: a laughing stock, eaten out of house and home, in a pickle, in the twinkling of an eye, send him packing, there’s method in my madness, too much of a good thing, vanish into thin air.

Did you know the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) similarly has greatly influenced our language today?

The Book of Common Prayer is the prayer book of Anglican churches, including the Church of England and the Episcopal church. However, its influence stretches across many other denominations and even into common culture.

This book was originally compiled by Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury under the reign of King Henry VIII as part of the Reformation, but was also one of the first translations of the Litany and prayers into English.

If you said “till death do us part” at your wedding or expect the words “earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust” to be said at your funeral, then you have felt the impact of the Book of Common Prayer.

Why pray these ancient prayers?

The prayers (or collects) are largely still based on Cranmer’s translations from the Latin prayers. These centuries-old prayers are beautiful, lyrical, and powerful.

These are prayers that have held relevance for worshipers for centuries, so why wouldn’t they still speak to us today? The rich language of these prayers can put you in a more reverent state to address our Almighty God. These prayers address timeless themes and needs.

I’m not Episcopal. Can I use the Book of Common Prayer?

These prayers are for everyone!

While The Book of Common Prayer is the basis for Anglican and Episcopal traditions, you’ll find the prayers throughout a number of Christian traditions, often in their original form. 

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, stated “I believe there is no Liturgy in the world, either in ancient or modern language, which breathes more of a solid, scriptural, rational piety than the Common Prayer of the Church of England.”

No matter your denomination, I encourage you to try incorporating some of these prayers into your prayer life.

Embrace the beauty of the language. Feel the power of a prayer that has been prayed for hundreds of years by millions of Christians.

Try one or more of these 8 ways to pray with The Book of Common Prayer.

8 Ways to Pray With The Book of Common Prayer

1) Browse the Book

The Book of Common Prayer is available online (//www.bcponline.org) or you can purchase a hard copy. There are also several apps that will bring the BCP to your phone or iPad. Here are some options:

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Take time to flip through the pages and familiarize yourself with its sections. Within its pages you’ll not only find a treasure trove of prayers (Collects), but also guides for daily devotionals (The Daily Office), Psalms (the Psalter), the Lectionary (daily and weekly scripture readings on a 3 year cycle that are widely used by a number of denominations), and an Outline of the Faith (or Catechism) which provides a summary of the Christian faith in question and answer format.

As you browse the book, stop and use any sections that capture your interest in your prayers.

2) Pray the Collect for the Week

This prayer will be prayed in churches across the world that Sunday, so you can join your voice in with millions of others praying the same prayer that week. You’ll find these in “The Collects” section, starting on page 159. You can choose from either the traditional or more contemporary language. These correspond to the church calendar for each Sunday.

3) Pray a Collect for a Special Purpose

Whatever your need, you should be able to find an applicable prayer. There are prayers throughout the book, but you’ll find most of the special purpose prayers in either the “Various Occasions” section on page 251 or the “Prayers and Thanksgivings” section starting on page 810.

4) Write Down Your Favorite Prayers

I have several written out on index cards and I’ll rotate through them as part of my daily prayer. Some are related to specific prayer needs and others are simply prayers I found particularly beautiful or meaningful.

Try one today. Pray this particularly beautiful, powerful, and well-known collect from the Third Sunday in Advent (page 212):

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us;
and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins,
let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

5) Follow the Revised Common Lectionary 3 year reading plan

The Book of Common Prayer offers two reading plans. One is the Revised Common Lectionary, which sets the scriptures used in church services each Sunday, as well as other specific weekday holidays and feast days. These readings are on a three-year cycle. Page 888 explains the Lectionary in more detail and how to determine which year you’re currently in.

You can also find the weekly Lectionary readings online at lectionarypage.net.

This reading plan won’t cover every scripture in the Bible, but you’ll get most (and you can always add to your reading). I love using the lectionary as my weekly scripture so my study and prayer time tie in with worship on Sunday morning. You’ll be using scripture used in many churches that same week as this Lectionary is used across a number of major denominations.

6) Follow the 2 year Daily Office reading plan

If you want a daily reading plan, the Daily Office provides a 2-year cycle of scripture readings. Page 934 explains the Daily Office Lectionary and how to determine which year you’re in. Use these as your daily scripture readings or incorporate them into your daily devotionals, whether you use the Daily Office liturgy or any other form of study and prayer.

The daily office and devotionals can be found online at missionstclare.com.

7) Use the Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families

Pages 136-140 in the Book of Common Prayer provide short devotions you can use daily in your prayer time. There are four outlined for different times of the day – morning, noon, early evening, and close of the day – so you can choose one most appropriate for when you pray. Or choose the one that fits you best.

The daily devotion begins with two readings from scripture. These are the same scriptures each day, so what a wonderful way to commit some verses to memory and have a devotional at the ready no matter where you are. The reading is followed by prayers for yourself and others, then the Lord’s Prayer. The devotion concludes with a specific collect (prayer) for the devotional. You can, of course, replace any of the scriptures or collects with others as you desire.

8) Pray the Daily Office

The Book of Common Prayer outlines a daily prayer guide for morning prayer, noon prayer, evening prayer, and compline (for the end of the day). Start by choosing one that’s most appropriate to your prayer time. Morning and evening prayer has two versions – Rite I (more traditional language, with the “thees” and “thous”) and Rite II  (more contemporary language).

Take some time to review the structure and instructions for the prayer time, beginning on page 36. This is where the Book of Common Prayer can feel complicated, like a ‘find your adventure’ book. You’ll need to reference several sections of the book to create your daily office service. This page from Trinity Cathedral provides a great, user-friendly explanation on using the Daily Office.

• In the Morning Prayer, you begin with an opening scripture. Choose one that’s most relevant for the time of the year.
• You then confess your sins and ask for forgiveness.
• Next you read an invitatory Psalm and the appointed Psalm for the day (reference the Daily Office reading plan). The Psalms are also included in the book, starting on page 585.
• Also from the Daily Office reading plan, you’ll read one or two other scriptures.
• After the first reading, choose one of the canticles to read. A canticle is a song based on scripture and can be sung or read. You can use different canticles each day.
• After the second reading (or after the Canticle if you’re only doing one reading), say the Apostle’s Creed.
• Next you begin the prayers. Start with the Lord’s Prayer, followed by the Collect for the Day and a prayer for mission. This guide from Trinity Cathedral provides a guide to which one to use for each day so that you pray through each during the week.
• Pray for your needs and those of others. Then close with the prayer of thanksgiving.

As you pray the Daily Office, you’ll be praying along with millions of people around the world, each praying similar prayers and reflecting on the same scriptures. What a way to lift prayers in loud unison to God!

How Will You Use The Book of Common Prayer?

What idea will you try today?

Embrace the beauty and power of these ancient words.

Raise your voice with millions of other praying the same prayers each week.

Ground your day in scripture and prayers.

Pray Deep Challenge: Choose a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer. Pray it today. Listen to the words and think how they apply to your life. Try adding a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer to your daily prayer time.

Resources:

For more on the relevance of the Book of Common Prayer in our lives today, check out these references:

“The Book of Common Prayer Is Still a Big Deal” @ Christianity Today

“The Significance of The Book of Common Prayer”

Like this post? Explore this and other forms of prayer through the Pray Deep prayer journals. Each book will lead you through a variety of prayer methods through 21 days of focused prayers. Get started with one today!

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This post is part of the “Pray Deep” series. For more information on the series, click HERE.