I was looking in the public library one day for books on prayer. I knew I wanted to do something related to prayer during lent. I came across Common Prayer: A Liturgy For Ordinary Radicals which is published by Zondervan. I thought it would be perfect.
The first couple days have been a bit rough for me…not because I don’t like it or because the liturgy is unsatisfactory in some way…I’m just having trouble finding the right time for the morning prayers especially. The first morning, I waited too long, and Elias woke up early. I tried to do it while he was playing, but he was too interested in what I was doing, and kept trying to take the book, so I had to wait until his nap time. Then the second morning, he had joined Nathan and I in our bed around 3 or 4 in the morning. I tried to do morning prayer while he was still sleeping…but I had to be silent since he was right next to me. I found it much harder to really focus on the prayers while being silent. My mind kept wandering. So this morning I decided to wake up earlier to do morning prayer. Well…it was still dark outside, and I basically sat up in bed and grabbed the prayer book. My gravely voice was not pretty as I tried to sing “Amazing Grace,” and my eyes weren’t really working properly so much of the text was blurry. I was almost laughing at myself the whole time. I’m sure God still appreciated the effort…but it was not a pretty sight/sound. I am now coming to terms with the fact that I will probably have to wake up even earlier, and take the time to actually wake up a bit before starting morning prayer. I’m sure it will be worth it, but I really like/need my sleep. Part of the point is that it is a sacrifice…right?
On the positive side, though, I decided to add the midday prayers to my daily regimen as well. I just looked at them on a whim yesterday, and now they are actually my favorite of the three. Morning prayers are different every day of the year, and evening prayers are different each day of the week, but midday prayers are the same every day. You can read them here if you are interested. They are so perfect for making sure my attitude is in the right place throughout the day. I think I would like to memorize them and say them every day even after Lent has passed.