Personal Worship
Christians often think of worship only as a worship service that may be attended. Worship from this point of view includes us to orient to an event or a group experience. Worship is much more than that if we understand how God's people are rightly connected to God. We are nourished by the church's ancient and contemporary traditions that foster an attitude of worship in us everyday. In the Scriptures, we are encouraged to pray without ceasing because prayer is a means of remaining connected to the God who loves us and walks with us and provides for us.
In the Anglican tradition, we stand on the shoulders of other Jesus followers who lived at various 
times since Jesus walked the earth. For a very long time, people have wanted to remain in a community that is connected to other communities through an orderly reading of the Bible. Readings were carefully selected and communities throughout a region would read the same readings each day and at their worship gatherings on Sundays. This plan of reading is called a lectionary. Living Faith members are encouraged to read their bibles daily in an order that allows all of us to read the same bible passages from the Holy Scriptures. This allows friends, family members and church members to receive common insights as Jesus meets His people through the reading and reflection on His Word.
Anglicans also build their spiritual formation and daily devotations on a daily cycle of ordered prayers. This practice comes into the life of Anglicanism through the devotions of those in religious orders. While the hours of prayer vary depending on how a religious order was called to prayer, Anglicans generally set aside four times per day to pray, even if for brief amounts of time. Those hours of prayer are:
- Morning Prayer prayed in the morning before going about the day's activities
- Noonday Prayer prayed before lunch or while at the noonday meal
- Evening Prayer prayed at dusk or just before the evening meal
- Night Prayer prayed at bedtime or just prior to retiring for the day
When we pray regularly and frequently, we find our devotion to Jesus growing. We become more open to hearing Him speak to us. We sense a stronger connection to the members of our local church. We are strengthened to join Jesus in mission. We are led to pray for other church communities and individuals more readily. Prayer is God's way of forming us into the kind of people who reflect Him. Without this kind of prayer, reflecting Him becomes a great challenge and a chore.
