What Is Morning Prayer? Answered in Three Minutes
GOSPEL RECOVERED. PRAYER RESTORED.
In the 1500s, the reformation swept through the European continent, restoring the gospel truth that salvation is by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone to the church. The Medieval Roman Church had added to the gospel, putting up man-made hurdles to those seeking access to the Father. Grace became a currency that the priest could hand out or withhold. People like Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli (to name the most popular of the reformers) began to preach and teach afresh the Scriptures - that salvation was a gift of God graciously given and received by faith - it was not to be earned.
As reformation made landfall on the British Island, one of the key leaders of the gospel retrieval movement was Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. He believed that the country of England could understand the gospel only as they came to read and understand the Holy Word of God in their own language. To help the church root their lives in the Word of God and in the gospel of Jesus Christ that the Word proclaims, he drew on the centuries old practice of the Daily Offices.
The Daily Offices, eight fixed times of prayer during a day, had been prayed in monasteries and monastic communities for hundreds of years. The custom came from the ancient church, who would gather at fixed times to pray and seek the Father together. This tradition came from Jewish communities before, who also prayed at fixed times in the day. Ultimately, the practice of prayer at the same time each day finds its roots in Scripture's soil. In Psalm 119, the Psalmist wrote, “Seven times in a day I have praised you.” This statement shaped patterns for the Yahweh-community. It became eight, however, discussion on that matter is for another time.
CRANMER’S COMMON PRAYER
Cranmer reached into these monastic communities, pulled the Offices out, and offered them to the entire church community. Principle among these fixed times of prayer were Morning and Evening Prayer. You can find these two services at the front of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP).
Morning prayer provides a consistent, structured time for daily communion with God.
We call it “Morning Prayer,” but it’s not just praying. The Office is a steady gospel movement that can shape your entire day, orienting your thoughts and desires toward the Father. It begins with an orienting acclimation from Scripture that prepares the heart for what is about to take place. Next, Morning Prayer guides you to rehearse the gospel as you confess your sins before God and express your need and dependence on the grace of God in Jesus Christ. After this, you praise the Father for the gift of His Word, you humble yourself under His authority, and then you read His Word. Cranmer created a Daily Lectionary or a list of prescribed readings to help the entire church read the entirety of God’s Word each year. After Scripture, after hearing from the Father in His Word, you then recite your faith in the words of the creed. Finally, you move into what feels more formally like prayer. You pray the Lord’s Prayer, you make petitions known, you pray communal prayers, and seek God who is ready to hear you.
YOUR MORNING PRAYER
The entire service is one of prayer - of communion with God and communication with Him. You speak to Him about your need for forgiveness. He speaks over you His assurance of pardon. You speak to Him about your need for Him to speak. He speaks to you from His Word. You tell Him your needs for life and godliness. He answers according to His will.
Morning Prayer is a wonderful tool, saturated in the Scriptures, that focuses our hearts and minds in the early hours of our day toward our need for God and is a reminder that God is always with us by His Spirit through the merits of His Son.
