“Lord of all power and might,
the author and giver of all good things:
Graft in our hearts the love of your Name;
increase in us true religion;
nourish us with all goodness;
and bring forth in us the fruit of good works;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
Amen.”

I grew up Baptist, so I had little to no experience with responsive readings and liturgies. As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to appreciate The Book of Common Prayer and other texts that use the liturgy in worship.

I do think that there’s something to spontaneous praying where you speak to God from your heart with your own words. But there are times when you can’t find the words, so it’s good to have tried and true wisdom from the saints of old to fall back on. Often, these written prayers will help you springboard into your own prayers.

I still love how I can come before God with nothing coherent and my mind is like a million internet tabs open all at once, and still God hears me. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit can even take our groans and sighs that are too deep for words and translate those into acceptable prayers to God’s ear. He prays on our behalf to God — God praying to God — so even those times aren’t wasted.

At times, a verse or passage will come to mind and you can pray God’s word back to God. I do think God puts those into our minds at the times when we need them the most. Those times are the best.