Lent is a great time to cultivate a habit of prayer, but it can be difficult. We want to make it easier. We’ve created these short versions of morning and evening prayer that take less than 5 minutes each to complete. They are adapted from the ACNA’s Book of Common Prayer’s Daily Office for Family Prayer, found starting on page 67.
Not Too Many Options
Many of us get distracted when confronted with options, so we’ve removed many from these offices so you can focus on prayer rather than decision-making. We have left in a few important ones:
- Scripture: If you already have a scripture reading plan, stick with it! Add scripture readings in the designated locations in morning and evening prayer.
- Silence: Silence itself can be prayer! We encourage you to take a few moments to breathe deeply and ask the Lord if there’s anything you should pay attention to right now.
- Pray for…: If “pray” is an overwhelming instruction for you, the church has a solution: prayer guides. Pray for one area each day, or pray through all seven daily, either in the morning or evening. Don’t sweat this! Choose a topic and pray whatever comes to mind. You can even set a timer for yourself if you’re worried you’ll get stuck.
The seven different areas the church teaches us to pray for are:- ourselves and our families,
- the government,
- the church,
- our local community,
- those in need,
- peace for war-torn areas,
- and the salvation and repentance of others.
- Compline: Some of us find it easier to pray at the end of our day rather than earlier in the evening. You may substitute compline (“At the Close of Day”) instead of evening prayer.
- Be prepared: Review the liturgies in this booklet now and put everything you’d like to use (your Bible, journal, a candle) together in the place you plan to pray.
Want more?
If you’re interested in a fuller prayer experience, try the ACNA Office for Morning/Evening, which can be found on pages 11-57 of the Book of Common Prayer. You can find a PDF version for free at
bcp2019.anglicanchurch.net.
Prayer for COVID-19
GAFCON has collected a series of prayers of intercession for COVID-19 at gafcon.org/prayers-during-covid-19-crisis