Is there value in repeating ancient words?

Often I feel more comfortable in the tradition of spontaneous prayers. Prayer where I piece the words together in the moment and express myself like I would to a friend over coffee. This free form stream of conscious type prayer is a sincere and powerful extension of my heart, but recently I have found a new peace and strength in the prayers passed down through Christian tradition.

A huge collection of ancient prayers dripping in history, theology, and truth are still repeated by millions of Christians from all over the world today. Words that were written down long ago and have journeyed through history in the mouths of searching people. Maybe you have prayed some of them before, some come from scripture like, The Our Father, The Magnificat, Simeon and Zachary’s Song, and The Doxology. There are also many prayers passed down through tradition of the church like the prayers of Ignatius of Antioch and Hippolytos of Rome, the Nicene creed, and the church’s liturgical prayers of baptism.

So this is my attempt to understand how the prayers of the historic church can be a peaceful and beneficial part of my regular prayer? Read More →

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