sanctifying daily time

Psalm 119:1-24; Job 6,1;7:1-21; Acts 10:1-16; John 7:1-13

Cornelius... a devout man, who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw a vision...
(Acts 10:1-2)
Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray... (v. 9)

Yesterday I listened to a talk by Phyllis Tickle on restoring ancient disciplines, given at Mars Hill Bible Church this summer. She spoke of seven disciplines being restored that were largely lost in the Reformation. Three of them are disciplines of space, and four are of time. I may blog on the dicristina site about them, but here I want to mention the first discipline of time that she spoke of was "fixed hour prayer" - at about 6:00, 9:00, 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00 (in the monastic tradition there were actually seven "hours" of prayer. This tradition may be reflected in a number of places in the book of Acts, including these two references from Acts 10.

My friend Glen Miley came by today and showed me a couple of daily prayer books, one of which he is using with great benefit. The Book of Common Prayer brought four "hours" of prayer over from the catholic tradition, Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer, Compline.

I am mulling this over today, "sanctifying" time, daily, through remembering consciously and deliberately, though not necessarily conspicuously, to pray at fixed times (not just in the morning and before bed).

With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments! ...
I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
(Psalm 119:10, 15-16)

favor as a shield (Ps 5)

(11) But all who take refuge in you will be glad;
they will sing out their joy for ever.
You will shelter them,
so that those who love your Name may exult in you.
(12) For you, O LORD, will bless the righteous;
you will defend them with your favor as with a shield.

David connects the LORD's protection with gladness, joy, and exultation. The LORD is to be a refuge, a shelter, and a defense for the righteous. How often I take refuge in other things, and literally get defensive. And in some way or other, this looking to or trusting in anything but God brings some relief temporarily, it seems to promise some kind of well-being.

But, as the last line declares, God's favor is a shield for the righteous. And again, it comes down to knowing and believing the love of God and the word of God. To know deep down that all is well because the Lord has triumphed and the Lord is King, and that I am beloved and secure in his love, and that though all may be against me, nothing can deter God's purposes for me or for his world. This can release a deep sense of joy that nothing else can bring.

"Lord, I believe; help my unbelief."

Sunday, August 23

Prayer for Sunday, August 24

Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Readings for Sunday, August 24

Isaiah 51:1-6
Psalm 138
Romans 11:33-36
Matthew 16:13-20

Daily Office, week of Aug. 24

Here are the Daily Office readings for this week

Daily Office lectionary

Proper 16
Week of the Sunday closest to August 24

Sunday	146, 147	111, 112, 113
	Job 4:1-6,12-21	Rev. 4:1-11	Mark 6:1-6a
Monday	1, 2, 3	4, 7
	Job 4:1,5:1-11,17-21,26-27	Acts 9:19b-31	John 6:52-59
Tuesday	5, 6	10, 11
	Job 6:1-4,8-15,21	Acts 9:32-43	John 6:60-71
Wednesday	119:1-24	12, 13, 14
	Job 6:1,7:1-21	Acts 10:1-16	John 7:1-13
Thursday	18:1-20	18:21-50
	Job 6:1,7:1-21	Acts 10:17-33	John 7:14-36
Friday	16, 17	22
	Job 9:1-15,32-35	Acts 10:34-48	John 7:37-52
Saturday	20, 21:1-7(8-14)	110:1-5(6-7), 116, 117
	Job 9:1,10:1-9,16-22	Acts 11:1-18	John 8:12-20

Daily Office readings

I refer to the "Daily Office" readings sometimes. They are found in the back of the Prayer Book. We are in Year Two. I will list them each week here. The numbers in the top blocks are the Psalms appointed, for morning and for evening.

This is a fair amount of reading. I encourage you to find a way of reading that works for you and stick to it, even if you don't read every reading every day. It is in the "habit" or discipline that our hearts and minds (and bodies) are changed, as we meet with God in a "holy" (set apart unto God) time...

Friday	140, 142	141, 143:1-11(12)
	Job 2:1-13	Acts 9:1-9	John 6:27-40
Saturday	137:1-6(7-9), 144	104
	Job 3:1-26	Acts 9:10-19a	John 6:41-51