From October 18 through November 18, we are observing the Seven Sacred Pauses by "praying the hours" each day. Please see this post: 30 Days of Prayer for a full explanation.
We believe that these prayers are powerful and would appreciate any time that you are able to give toward remembering our family, our son, and the Offin Childrens Center in prayer.
The prayers are outlined and explained below:
(all quoted text is from the book 7: An Experimental Mutiny against Excess, by Jen Hatmaker)
The Night Watch (midnight)
"My eyes are awake before each watch of the night, that I may meditate on your promise." (Psalm 119:148)
"This is a deep, even dark prayer of waiting and interceding. The Night Watch advocates for others in a dark night of the soul: the suffering, abandoned, oppressed, lonely. Although there are beautiful prayers and Psalms to use, this pause is also powerful silent -- a simple, quiet connection with Jesus, staying awake together to shoulder the suffering the plagues this planet and our hearts" (pg 185).
Readings: Psalm 42, Psalm 63, Psalm 119:145-152
The Awakening Hour (dawn)
"Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:14)
"The Awakening Hour includes thankfulness for a new day, a fresh slate. It's the moment to pray for resurrection: What needs to rise in us today? Do we need to awaken to joy? Forgiveness? Should we pray for the resurrection of love in our hearts for our spouse or children? We enter a new day where our lives can become a living praise. Our desire to live this day well, for Jesus' glory, is an offering. After the Night Watch this moment celebrates God's intervention, His redemption" (pg 186).
Readings: Psalm 19, Psalm 95, Psalm 147
The Blessing Hour (midmorning)
"Let your loveliness shine on us, and bless the work we do, bless the word of our hands." (Psalm 90:17)
"This mid-morning pause has two emphases: the first is mindfulness of the Spirit's abiding presence. We invite the Holy Spirit deeply in before the day gets away from us. Second, the Blessing Hour is about the sacredness of our hands and work. We ask the Spirit to bless us with creativity, composure, inspiration, love. What if we approached our work as an opportunity to show love? Visible love is possible if we work mindfully, as carriers of the sweet Spirit of Christ" (pg 187).
Readings: Psalm 67, Psalm 84, Psalm 121
The Hour of Illumination (noon)
"You are the salt of the earth...you are the light of the world." (Matthew 5:13-14)
"At midday, the brightest moment of the day, we honor the hour when Jesus embraced the cross. Like Him we recommit to giving our lives away. We follow His leadership in servanthood, practicing peace in a world of violence and vowing to love this world like Jesus did. In the spirit of the hour, we pledge to shine brightly, becoming hope to the hopeless and light in the darkness. We offer our hands and words as agents of change and justice. The midday prayer is our pledge to pour out our lives, just like Jesus did at great cost" (pg 187-188).
Readings: Psalm 24, Psalm 33, Psalm 34
The Wisdom Hour (midafternoon)
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21)
"At midafternoon the Wisdom Hour embraces the themes of surrender, forgiveness and wisdom, and the impermanence of this life. This hour is the prayer for wisdom to help us live like we were dying, which we are. With evening approaching, we pray for perspective on this short, fleeting day, this short, fleeting life and accordingly, we hold out forgiveness, release our grudges, and offer our gifts to the world, understanding we have only a few years to share them or they will be wasted" (pg 188-189).
Readings: Psalm 71, Psalm 90, Psalm 138
The Twilight Hour (early evening)
"This is the much loved evening prayer, prayed for centuries at the end of the workday as dusk approaches. The main themes are gratitude and serenity. We invite God's peace as we leave work and transition into dinner, family, home, rest. The Twilight Hour is for exhaling, calming our minds, and transitioning into the evening. A major theme of this is gratitude. We practice being thankful for the gifts of the day, the loveliness of the season we are in. We say 'thank you' for hands to labor and love with and ask for grace for the work of the approaching evening" (pg 189).
Readings: Psalm 34, Psalm 139, Psalm 145
The Great Silence (bedtime)
"By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me - a prayer to the God of my life." (Psalm 42:8)
"This prayer concludes the day; a beautiful time to pray with children as we tuck them in or with a spouse or friend before we sleep. It begins with a gentle evaluation of the day. The focus is on awareness, and we include not just weaknesses but strengths and accomplishments of the day. The Great Silence teaches us to be healthy sinners, living in neither denial of our sin or despair because of it. We intervene for those seized by darkness: suffering, sickness, death, disease. We pray for our brothers and sisters who need our intervention deeply. There is a beauty to the darkness, the natural rhythm of the earth that invites us to be still and rest. It is time to let go of the day and enter the Great Silence" (pg 190).
Readings: Psalm 23, Psalm 91, Psalm 134
Thank you for your support!
We believe that these prayers are powerful and would appreciate any time that you are able to give toward remembering our family, our son, and the Offin Childrens Center in prayer.
The prayers are outlined and explained below:
(all quoted text is from the book 7: An Experimental Mutiny against Excess, by Jen Hatmaker)
The Night Watch (midnight)
"My eyes are awake before each watch of the night, that I may meditate on your promise." (Psalm 119:148)
"This is a deep, even dark prayer of waiting and interceding. The Night Watch advocates for others in a dark night of the soul: the suffering, abandoned, oppressed, lonely. Although there are beautiful prayers and Psalms to use, this pause is also powerful silent -- a simple, quiet connection with Jesus, staying awake together to shoulder the suffering the plagues this planet and our hearts" (pg 185).
Readings: Psalm 42, Psalm 63, Psalm 119:145-152
The Awakening Hour (dawn)
"Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:14)
"The Awakening Hour includes thankfulness for a new day, a fresh slate. It's the moment to pray for resurrection: What needs to rise in us today? Do we need to awaken to joy? Forgiveness? Should we pray for the resurrection of love in our hearts for our spouse or children? We enter a new day where our lives can become a living praise. Our desire to live this day well, for Jesus' glory, is an offering. After the Night Watch this moment celebrates God's intervention, His redemption" (pg 186).
Readings: Psalm 19, Psalm 95, Psalm 147
The Blessing Hour (midmorning)
"Let your loveliness shine on us, and bless the work we do, bless the word of our hands." (Psalm 90:17)
"This mid-morning pause has two emphases: the first is mindfulness of the Spirit's abiding presence. We invite the Holy Spirit deeply in before the day gets away from us. Second, the Blessing Hour is about the sacredness of our hands and work. We ask the Spirit to bless us with creativity, composure, inspiration, love. What if we approached our work as an opportunity to show love? Visible love is possible if we work mindfully, as carriers of the sweet Spirit of Christ" (pg 187).
Readings: Psalm 67, Psalm 84, Psalm 121
The Hour of Illumination (noon)
"You are the salt of the earth...you are the light of the world." (Matthew 5:13-14)
"At midday, the brightest moment of the day, we honor the hour when Jesus embraced the cross. Like Him we recommit to giving our lives away. We follow His leadership in servanthood, practicing peace in a world of violence and vowing to love this world like Jesus did. In the spirit of the hour, we pledge to shine brightly, becoming hope to the hopeless and light in the darkness. We offer our hands and words as agents of change and justice. The midday prayer is our pledge to pour out our lives, just like Jesus did at great cost" (pg 187-188).
Readings: Psalm 24, Psalm 33, Psalm 34
The Wisdom Hour (midafternoon)
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21)
"At midafternoon the Wisdom Hour embraces the themes of surrender, forgiveness and wisdom, and the impermanence of this life. This hour is the prayer for wisdom to help us live like we were dying, which we are. With evening approaching, we pray for perspective on this short, fleeting day, this short, fleeting life and accordingly, we hold out forgiveness, release our grudges, and offer our gifts to the world, understanding we have only a few years to share them or they will be wasted" (pg 188-189).
Readings: Psalm 71, Psalm 90, Psalm 138
The Twilight Hour (early evening)
"This is the much loved evening prayer, prayed for centuries at the end of the workday as dusk approaches. The main themes are gratitude and serenity. We invite God's peace as we leave work and transition into dinner, family, home, rest. The Twilight Hour is for exhaling, calming our minds, and transitioning into the evening. A major theme of this is gratitude. We practice being thankful for the gifts of the day, the loveliness of the season we are in. We say 'thank you' for hands to labor and love with and ask for grace for the work of the approaching evening" (pg 189).
Readings: Psalm 34, Psalm 139, Psalm 145
The Great Silence (bedtime)
"By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me - a prayer to the God of my life." (Psalm 42:8)
"This prayer concludes the day; a beautiful time to pray with children as we tuck them in or with a spouse or friend before we sleep. It begins with a gentle evaluation of the day. The focus is on awareness, and we include not just weaknesses but strengths and accomplishments of the day. The Great Silence teaches us to be healthy sinners, living in neither denial of our sin or despair because of it. We intervene for those seized by darkness: suffering, sickness, death, disease. We pray for our brothers and sisters who need our intervention deeply. There is a beauty to the darkness, the natural rhythm of the earth that invites us to be still and rest. It is time to let go of the day and enter the Great Silence" (pg 190).
Readings: Psalm 23, Psalm 91, Psalm 134
Thank you for your support!