The Book of Common Prayer has been used for nearly 500 years. It has endured, largely unchanged, as a book of devotion and worship in the Christian church that entire time, and has undoubtedly had volumes written about it. I doubt it needs the defense of an amateur writer and I’m sure I won’t do one percent of the work that’s been done before. I’ll do it anyway, because maybe my experience and highlights will speak to someone, and I believe it is a worthwhile endeavor.
The book was originally compiled by Thomas Cranmer in 1549 under the rule of Edward VI, a devout believer and promoter of the Reformation. I say ‘compiled’ because, while Cranmer wrote portions of the book, between seventy-five and eighty percent is verbatim Scripture, Most of the rest is composed of the collects, “a prayer meant to combine the people’s intentions and the focus of worship into a succinct prayer.” (Anglican Compass)
Growing up in the PCA, I always trusted the instruction I received to be extremely uniform across the denomination. It is a tradition that prides itself (and fairly so) on very well formed theology. Later in life when I experienced other churches within the denomination I was surprised to find this tradition was not immune to cultural influence. I could write a whole article on the ways in which the South’s particular brand of evangelicalism has influenced the PCA as well as other reformed traditions, but I will focus here on just one aspect – prayer.
When people think of praying, they usually envision only one of several forms, one known as extemporaneous prayer. This is the sort of “off-the-cuff” prayer where one might pray for something very specific to their life or the life of their church. This is an undeniably important part of our spiritual lives. We all have unique experiences that require this sort of specific invocation. This is not the only way to pray, however. What I learned, although not specifically prohibited by the church, is that prewritten prayer at best is stale and insincere and at worst is blasphemous in some ambiguous way. This perception could be just that – only my interpretation while the church at large has no issues with this. Regardless, this is the vantage from which I will make my case for the Book of Common Prayer which I have come to value for a few reasons.
1. Biblical Precedent
The simplest point that convinced me to utilize these standard prayers and liturgy, and indeed find great beauty in them comes from Matthew 6. Christ himself gives us a prescribed prayer, one which almost all traditions pray regularly. The Lord’s Prayer gives us both specific words and a formula with which to pray. An invocation, praise, acknowledgement that God’s will is greater than our own, a petition for provision, a confession, and an acknowledgement of God’s authority. Jesus taught us to “pray like this”. Useful for extemporaneous prayer, but also setting guidelines for prayer that has a specific rhythm and repeatability. By extension, this lends credence to liturgy. The liturgy of the BCP is almost entirely the words of the Bible arranged into worship services.
2. Learning to Pray
Before I learned to play the piano and the guitar, I simply marveled. I listened to the Beatles, Billy Joel, Elton John (I was very out of touch with my generation) and could scarcely comprehend the magic that was created when they touched their instruments. I was both inspired and informed by their musical language. So in addition to formal lessons which taught me the mechanics, I also studied the style, the harmony and techniques and attitude of these musical giants and did my best to emulate them. Is it possible to develop a musical language in a vacuum? Probably not, but even if you somehow managed to, what would come of it would be banal at best and unrecognizable at worst. Why would we think prayer should be any different? As we established, prayer is a language with prescribed rhythms and forms much like music. The apostles received instruction from Jesus himself and undoubtedly the church throughout the ages has received instruction on prayer from the saints before them. Now, don’t misunderstand me. Certainly God hears all sincere prayers, regardless of piety or the language used. “Good food, good meat, good God, let’s eat,” is just as heard as the General Thanksgiving, but it’s important to recognize what prayer is for. Prayer is not simply lobbing words up at God. Prayer is multidimensional. Prayer transforms us. As we are sanctified our prayer will more closely resemble God’s will – this is the ultimate goal. As we pray with this greater depth we will likewise be formed more towards Christlikeness. So to read and replicate the prayers of those Saints before us is an opportunity to draw on what they learned through a lifetime of devotion, much like listening to great musicians informs the musical intuition.
Put another way, when we are born again, we are like children who must (re)learn everything. Children learn from observation. Anyone with a child knows you must be careful what you say around them. They absorb everything – good or bad. To read and recite these prayers of mature Christians will spur our imagination and strengthen our prayer language, creating a positive feedback loop of spiritual growth.
3. You Are What You Eat
If you’re my age (29) ± 5 years, you will understand “It’s not just a boulder, it’s a rock!” I could throw any relevant SpongeBob reference out and Gen Zers everywhere will repeat the phrase in unison. Shows like these were the last semblance of a youth monoculture before hyper-individualism took control with the rise of the internet. What we take in regularly shapes our affections. Our collective imaginations and bank of cultural references were formed by whatever Nickelodeon aired after school. Consciously or not I believe we all long for a monoculture. This hyper-individualized experience which at first feels like a garden curated just for you, turns out to be lonely, a jail cell with all your favorite things and no one to share them with.
Unfortunately this experience has made its way into the church. With a near limitless number of churches in all different flavors you can hide on the back pew of one as long as it serves you and the moment you disagree with a point, don’t like the music, or are bored you can move on. It’s hard to blame anyone for this when the rest of the world caters to our every whim. The BCP offers a remedy here as well. Say to any Anglican “The Lord be with you!” and they will invariably respond “and with your spirit!” (or “and also with you!”, depending on the specific region). This book and the practices within create a counter culture. We understand Christians should look different. This is widely accepted. In my experience though, the church looks much like the rest of the world. I would propose this is because the dominant agent in the formation of most people – Christian or not – is media; the internet, TV, and music.
I am not, so far, a teetotaler. I love YouTube, I love The Bear, and as a musician I revere Paul Simon. I won’t advocate that you join a monastery and give up all worldly pleasures, although I don’t think that’s a terrible idea. But, we fool ourselves believing we are able to fully compartmentalize the content we take in. After joining the Anglican Church I noticed a significant spiritual growth. Slow at first as I cautiously tested what I heard, comparing it to the firm theology I learned from a lifetime as a Presbyterian, then more rapidly as I fully embraced the power of the liturgy. It first occurred to me when I would answer my own thoughts with Scripture. As I was falling asleep if I felt any anxiety I found myself repeating these words from Luke, the concluding words of the end-of-day prayer service:
“Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all people; To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of your people Israel. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.”
The readiness with which these words came to me was undoubtedly due to their repetition, much like a favorite song. This beauty was contrasted when I began watching a particularly violent TV show, often before bed. After the screen went dark my thoughts remained on the dark themes the show portrayed. I had once again fooled myself into thinking I could compartmentalize the message of the show as “just a story”, but the stories we tell ourselves are exactly what forms us. The difference this time was that I had “tasted and seen” (another phrase that stays readily on my mind). I actually, for the first time, longed to return to the sweet words of the scriptures.
I am very cautious of anything that may detract from the Bible. I was leery of the BCP to say the least. I feared it may mislead me in some way. My pastor encouraged me with the words of Psalm 139; “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” The Lord has promised that he will always look for his lost sheep. With this promise in mind, there was nothing to fear from a book, especially one that is meant for worship. What I found inside was a glorious invitation into the presence of the Lord, comprised almost entirely of scripture arranged for worship.
My grandfather had a stroke in 2024 and though he eventually passed, he held on for a few days. Before heading to the hospital I felt a strange compulsion to grab his BCP, though at that time I had never engaged with it. I brought it in to the overly bright, noisy ICU room. My grandmother, who had not left his side, and I said evening prayer together. The Holy Spirit was palpable. My grandfather who had been pulling at his lines and scratching himself uncontrollably finally settled, his breathing calmed, and for the last time he leaned comfortably into his wife’s arms. None of this would be possible without the Word and Spirit, but the BCP provided a beautiful and intentional way of presenting the texts that lead us into worship. If you’re on the fence, give it a try. Anglican or not, there is a lot to learn from a prayer book compiled by saints of old, one that forms a global community.
Photo Credit Unsplash.com
Editor’s note: This article was first published on Substack.
Consider subscribing to our newsletter to receive updates on new articles, reviews, and podcast episodes. To learn more about the good news of Jesus Christ, please click here.
We also invite you to consider supporting the ongoing ministry of Coram Deo.
Discover more from Coram Deo
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
