A Morning Prayer - The Prayer of Saint Philaret
"O Lord, Grant me to greet the coming day in peace..."
Summertime is wrapping up and it's rhythms and structures (or lack thereof) are in full swing and need to be shifted and readjusted as we head into the next academic (and ecclesiastical) year. For our family summer has actually been much busier than our standard slow-paced rhythm of the school year in our hybrid homeschool model. Lots of fun and exciting camps and as much time as possible at our local swimming hole often until closing only to rush home to sleep means that (even though I warned myself in last year's blog post Summertime Vigilance) our family prayer rhythms have been lacking. Too late to bed and kids cranky for evening prayers and then waking up staggered and sometimes just in time to grab food and head out the door for the next activity. I generally lead the prayers and there have been multiple mornings where I have left for work before everyone is awake.For those mornings and for any morning really I find the Prayer of Saint Philaret so perfect. It is so beautifully and so succinctly blends together all my hopes and prayers for myself and my family as we prepare ourselves for each new day. Despite some more sophisticated language (conviction, unforeseen, embittering - which should be explained) it is really quite accessible in it's original form for children. It also has a very poetic cadence when said aloud and, in our family, we have taken to saying it almost as a call and response where different people can take the lead and the response focuses on completing each phrase and also some of the most important aspects of the prayer. In this way even the littlest children can participate. The fact that we are not just reciting it, but calling and responding means that it really attracts the kids attention in a different way than saying aloud memorized prayers can. It is not monastic - we are not monastic - and I am always trying to keep my kids warmly connected to the faith above and beyond strict obedience (although participation and attention are expected). It is fun. It is joyful. It is sincere. I pray that will be pleasing in the Lord's eyes and I feel confident that it will stick in my children's memory as something that our family did together to worship God and set our eyes on Him.I will try and give a sense of our "way" of saying the prayer below. As with previous family prayers I have shared we say "us" rather than "me" as we are praying collectively. The normal text is said by whoever is leading the prayer and the ALL CAPS is called out by everyone together. I pray that this may be useful to some and that each of us continue to work diligently to find ways to bring sincere and joyful prayer to our family's daily lives and rhythms however we are able.May our every effort be blessed.In Christ's love,Sasha
O Lord, grant us to greet the coming day in PEACE. Help us in all thing to rely upon Your holy WILL.In every hour of the day, reveal Your will to US. Bless our dealings with all who surround US. Teach us to treat all that comes to US with PEACE OF SOUL and with firm conviction that YOUR WILL GOVERNS ALL. In all our deeds and words, guide our THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS. In unforeseen events, let us not forget that ALL ARE SENT BY YOU. Teach us to act FIRMLY AND WISELY, without EMBITTERING or EMBARRASSING others. Grant us strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day with ALL THAT IT SHALL BRING. Direct our WILL, teach us to PRAY, PRAY YOU YOURSELF IN US. AMEN.