a question for those of you who pray the daily office (or anyone really)

Do you have a way to order your daily intentions? I.e. is there a system to your intercessory prayer? If so what is it? I.e. do you pray for family on Monday, clergy on Tuesday, heretics on Wednesday, the sick and suffering on Thursday, the dead on Friday, etc. etc.? How do you do it?

And a more general question: what is your daily prayer discipline? I'll tell you mine. Its straight-forward: Daily Morning and Evening Prayer (1662) (Coverdale Psalter), with the ECUSA 1979 Propers (lectionary, collects, etc.), the whole thing enriched with antiphons (from the English Office -- link in sidebar), and the Final Anthems of the BVM. Once a week or so I'll say the Litany of the Sacred Heart or something like that. Very occasionally I'll say the Rosary.

The reason I ask the first question is that I've never developed a system for intercession, so it remains sporadic and piecemeal. I have a kind of litany of proper names for whom I intercede (though not at every office). I feel the need for more order to my intercessions.

some more prayers to pray during the primates meeting

I urge you, first, to prayer for the primates. I urge you, second, to these prayers during the Primates' Meeting. I also remind you again of the helpful resources and information at Lent and Beyond.

If you pray the Daily Office, and I hope you do (see the links in the sidebar if you would like to say it online), pray these and other intercessions at the end of the office, just before "The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ..." Print them out and put them in your Bible, BCP, or Office Book.

For the Unity of the Church

Our God, amidst the deplorable division of your Church, let us never widen its breaches, but give us universal charity to all who are called by your name. Deliver us from the sins and errors, the schisms and heresies of the age. Give us grace daily to pray for the peace of your Church, and earnestly to seek it and to excite all we can to praise and to love you; through Jesus Christ, our one Savior and Redeemer. Amen.

(A prayer of Thomas Ken)

For the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams

O God, the shepherd and ruler of all the faithful, look down favorably upon your servant Rowan, whom you have been pleased to appoint pastor over your Church; grant, we beseech you, that he may benefit both by word and example those over whom he is set, and thus attain life eternal, together with the flock committed to his care. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

more prayers to cut out and put in your bcp or office book

For +++++KJS and the other heretic Prince-Bishops of ECUSA, in all charity and for their salvation, and in obedience to God's desire that we pray for the Church, for those in authority, for our enemies, for those who persecute us, and for those whose senseless minds are darkened:

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, Who savest all men, and willest not that any should perish; look upon the souls which have been deceied by the fraud of the devil (especially N.N.); that all heretical perversity may be driven away, and the hearts of the erring may repent, and return to Thine unshaken truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

DISSOLVE, O Christ, the schisms of heresy, which seek to subvert the faith, which strive to corrupt the truth, especially among Anglicans in North America; that as Thou art acknowledged in heaven and in earth as one and the same Lord, so Thy people, gathered from all nations, may serve Thee in the unity of faith. Amen.

O GOD, Who delightest in the devotion of the faithful, make Thy people, we pray Thee, to be devoted to Thy holy things; that they who depart from their duties by ungodly depravity of mind (especially N.N.), may be converted by Thy grace, and return from the snares of the devil wherein they are held captive; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

pray for the primates

My dear friends, the primates of the Anglican Communion will be meeting in Tanzania next month (February 12-19). No one knows quite what will happen, nor apparently even quite what the agenda will be in its particulars. But there is a general consensus 1) that the meeting is incredibly important, and 2) that ECUSA's fate will be, if not determined, at least clarified.

That being the case, I hereby officially urge everyone to pray every day for the primates. Include in your intentions that they would be given wisdom and grace, especially Rowan, who will chair and preside at the meeting. And pray that Katharine would be blessed and converted to the Christian faith, that the only Son of God would reign in her heart and that she would know him.

The keystone of devotional blogs, Lent and Beyond, has tremendously helpful resources for those of you (I hope all of you) who would like to pray for particular intentions and particular primates. Go there. Pray.

Lastly, here is a prayer I have been saying as a part of my Daily Office, adapted from a 1662 prayer (with the addition of a single little phrase):

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who alone workest great marvels; send down upon our primates, bishops and curates, and all congregations committed to their charge, the healthful Spirit of thy grace; and that they may truly please thee, pour upon them the continual dew of thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honour of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. R. Amen.

Now, print out that prayer, cut it into a card sized thing, and put it into your Prayer Book.

pray for the primates

We'll see whether the primates' meeting coming up in February will be a make or break thing. But it has the potential of being such. In any event: the primates need prayer. The folks at Lent and Beyond are providing suggestions and resources for praying for the primates. I commend them to you.