Throughout the Gospels, Jesus prayed constantly. He sought God’s heart relentlessly, and not only modeled for all of us the importance of prayer, but taught us how to pray by giving us what’s known as the Lord’s Prayer, or the Our Father. As followers of Jesus, we should strive to do the same. The Catechism, found in our beloved Book of Common Prayer, teaches that prayer is responding to God the Father—by thought and by deeds, with or without words—through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
As the Apostle Peter wrote: “as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Prayer is an essential part of the path to holiness. The ritual of daily prayer is also a part of the beautiful, historical, and sacred identity that, as Episcopalians, we share with Anglicans throughout the world. The Book of Common Prayer contains the Daily Office, as well as shorter forms that can be used as family devotions. Prayer should be as much a part of our daily routine as our morning coffee or exercise.
The Diocese has added a Spiritual Growth Committee that examines the issues of prayer. For more information contact us.
