Liturgy of the Hours Prime
Liturgy of the Hours is an ancient practice of a structured way to pray through scripture throughout the day, particularly the Psalms. It dates back to the Jewish custom of praying at fixed hours, a practice early Christians continued. Its purpose is to sanctify the day and the whole range of our human activity. One description I read says, “It does this by bathing the morning, afternoon, and evening in prayer, so that the whole course of the day and night is made holy by the praises of God.”
I recorded 5 embodied prayer meditations at the hours of:
Prime 6am
Terce 9am
Sext noon
None 6pm
Vespers 9pm
Each video is bookended with a particular scripture from the Psalms as an anchor to guide you through each prayer time. They are meant to be 10-15 min pauses in the day to reflect on the scripture and invite God’s presence to fill you. You may recognize familiar or receptive gestures in each video. I encourage you to try them out if they resonate with you and pair it with the scripture reading.
You will receive 5 emails at the corresponding hour of the day if you’d like to follow along in that time frame but feel free to pray through them at anytime.
The first one is below:
PRIME 6AM
Psalm Meditation: Psalm 103:1-2
Let all that I am praise the Lord, with my whole heart I will praise his holy name.
Let all that I am praise the Lord, may I never forget the good things he’s done for me.
Journal Prompts:
No matter how I feel right now, how can I invite my body to prayer today?
Am I withholding “all the I am” in some way? Ask God to show you what it is you’re withholding and why.
Am I holding tension somewhere in my body? Locate it, gently place your hand on it and try this breath prayer-
Breathe in and pray: Let all that I am
Breathe out and pray: praise the Lord with my whole heart.
Repeat 2-3 times and write your responses in your journal.
Amen.
Director/Dancer/Producer: Libby John
Music provided by Ben Johnson