Praying With the Church - Blog Tour

Welcome to those who are stopping by today on the blog tour for Scot McKnight's Praying With the Church.

Praying With the Church is about the value of the spiritual discipline of speaking the prayers of the church. Beginning with Jesus, and continuing through the traditions of the present day, McKnight describes the tradition of fixed, hourly prayer within the Christian community, commenting on the value of the rich heritage with which we can connect by joining in that tradition. Among other things, he discusses the Jewish habits of daily prayer during Jesus' day, the prayer books of the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Anglican churches, and a modern prayer book, edited by Phyllis Tickle, entitled The Divine Hours.

Thanks to Scot's book, as well as a previous recommendation from a leader in my faith community, I am currently "praying" each night with Tickle's The Divine Hours : Prayers for Summertime. My decision to do that was heavily influenced by three remarks that Scot made during the early chapters of the book:
1. He observed that his own prayers sometimes seemed empty - like he was offering the same basket of stuff again and again. I always felt the same way.
2. Repitition of prayer does not equate to vain repetition, something that folks like me - who are still heavily influenced by evangelicalism - resist. As I reflected on this, I began to realize that, for example, the Lord's prayer, which I recite every Sunday, does not necessarily have to be vain as it is repeated.
3. By praying the prayers of the church, one can "come out" of their own individual ways and faith traditions, and become a part of the larger church - a collection of believers that transcends both space and time. For me, praying in a way that is "larger," less immediate, and less temporal than my own praticular situation is one of the most meaningful things about this practice.

I'll try to keep regular readers here posted on my experiences as I work through Tickle's book.

(Scot-if you happen to drop by today, I'm wondering if you might comment on how a young evangelical who is not familiar with the practice of fixed hour prayer might get started in the practice of the Daily Offices...)

In the meantime, has anyone else read the book? What was your reaction? Also, does anyone have questions about the book?

[Note: If you're interested in purchasing Praying With the Church, you may want to consider purchasing it directly from the publisher here. If you purchase Praying With the Church, you will also receive a free copy of The Jesus Creed, another one of McKnight's highly acclaimed books.]

Related Tags: Scot McKnight, Praying With the Church, blog tour