Praying Common Prayers

We are pleased to welcome our A Nun’s Life Community friend Regina as our guest blogger today. As you reflect with Regina, think about your own experiences of praying common prayers.

Praying Common Prayers
by Regina

I am not really sure when I realized that I didn’t have to create prayers in order to pray; for a long time, I was intimidated by prayer, always trying to find just the “right” words, as if God wouldn’t listen to me otherwise.  It took me awhile, but I eventually realized that there is power in praying common prayers. When I pray these prayers, I am part of the great cloud of witnesses; I am not alone.  Here are three that are particularly significant to me:

The Jesus Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

It used to be that when I got angry or frustrated at someone, I would pray for them. Pray that God would fix it, or change their hearts or something. And then in the course of my recent readings on monasticism, I read about this prayer, which is a fixture for Orthodox Christians. It turns everything on its head. Instead of getting mad and asking God to change the other person, this re-frames my thoughts to asking God to have mercy on me. This is not an easy prayer to pray. Often, I find myself pushing it away, because I I don’t want to change. I want the person who has hurt me to change, apologize and acknowledge that I was right! Usually,I have to pray this as a mantra, over and over and over again.

Prayer from Compline:

Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Compline was the first piece of the Divine Office that I began to pray regularly, and when I first heard this part of it, I thought, “This is such a simple prayer and exactly what I need.”

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon:
where there is doubt, faith ;
where there is despair, hope
where there is darkness, light
where there is sadness, joy
O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

I have loved this prayer since I was a child. It simply reminds me that it’s not about me. And it’s not a magic wand that God just waves over and makes everything “right”. We are the instruments, we are God’s hands. In doing the work of Creation, we become one with Creation. (And it encourages me, because even when it seems hopeless, Christ is transforming us.)

For prayer today, visit our Praying with the Sisters page for a recording of today’s readings and reflection.

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Tagged as: common prayer, guest blogger