Welcome to the daily prayer guide for the month of September! Today is Friday, Sept. 16.

Morning

Let’s draw from another prayer book to open our morning. You also can lift praises on your own, in your own words, of course.

These words are from “Prayers of Hildegard of Bingen.” She was a 12th century abbess and what some people call a Christian “mystic.”

O elemental power of eternity,
in your heart
you have ordered the universe.
You have created the universe through your Word,
according to your will.
And your Word became flesh
in the form
that descended from Adam.
In this way the deepest pain
was taken from our body.

Indeed, how marvelous is your goodness, O Savior!
Through your incarnation
you have set all things free.
From the breath of God you became man
freed from the bondage of sin.
Glory to you, Father, and your Son,
with the Holy Spirit.

In this way the deepest pain was taken from our body.

Having considered the power of the incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection, once again confess your sins, knowing they are forgiven. And again, pray from a global perspective down to a personal perspective.

Take time to read these Bible verses in a contemplative and meaningful way: Psalm 84:10-12; Romans 8:31-39.

Give yourself a few minutes of silence before resuming your day.

Noon

Pray the Lord’s Prayer. Let’s also repeat the midday prayer from “A Celtic Primer,” a compilation by Brendan O’Malley:

Father, at noontime on this day
hallowed by the Resurrection of your Son,
we give you thanks for your presence among us.
Yours is the earth and its fullness.
May the hearts and desires of all peoples
be turned to you, through Jesus, the Christ, our Lord.

Again, give yourself a few minutes of silence before resuming your day.

Night

We continue to try to understand and immerse ourselves in meditative prayer, as described earlier. I realize this distinct way of praying is foreign to most of us, but we are moving toward better discernment of God’s will, and times like this will be important to that process. Revelations do sometimes come to us in a flash, but I also think meditative prayer is like preparing soil for seed. We don’t always associate the early work with the later fruit, but we’re far more likely to get results when we’ve made the ground as fertile as possible.

May your dreams reflect God’s reality.

Welcome to the daily prayer guide for the month of September! Today is Thursday, Sept. 15.

Morning

I want to introduce you to the idea of using a prayer book through the day. Some of you will prefer to pray extemporaneously within the patterns I have been showing you thus far, but others ultimately will enjoy having a prayer book in front of you.

This morning prayer is from a little prayer book I found in a used book store about 12 years ago:

Gracious God, heavenly Father, I thank You for Your mercy, which has kept me from all harm and danger through the darkness of the night. Erase the darkness of sin from my life by Your forgiveness, for Jesus my Savior’s sake. Let me begin my duties today with the assurance that You will look with favor on my work. Bless whatever I do that my wages may be enough for my needs and the wants of those whom You have committed to my care. Teach me to give cheerfully of my earnings to support Your church and to help the poor and needy. Help me to remember today the admonition of my Savior: “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” In that spirit let me begin my tasks. Amen. (“My Prayer Book,” Concordia Publishing House, 1957.)

Take time to read these Bible verses in a contemplative and meaningful way: Psalm 113; Exodus 23:1-9; Romans 3:1-8.

Give yourself a few minutes of silence before resuming your day.

Noon

Pray the Lord’s Prayer. Also, here’s a midday prayer from “A Celtic Primer,” a compilation by Brendan O’Malley:

Father, at noontime on this day
hallowed by the Resurrection of your Son,
we give you thanks for your presence among us.
Yours is the earth and its fullness.
May the hearts and desires of all peoples
be turned to you, through Jesus, the Christ, our Lord.

Again, give yourself a few minutes of silence before resuming your day.

Night

For me, evening prayer is often the most difficult. I find myself tired and unfocused if it’s really late. If you have similar problems, try moving your “night” prayer time up a little earlier, perhaps to coincide with sunset.

I hope you continue with the meditative prayer techniques taught earlier. Again, if you’re struggling, you can start a conversation with others about this in the comments section, or you can contact me directly at cwgriffiniii@gmail.com.

When your evening finally draws to a close, I pray you rest well.