[[Liturgical Studies]] / Morning Prayer > [!note] New - 2026-03-26 ![[assets/covers/morning-prayer.jpg]] Morning Prayer is the first office of the Daily Office, the traditional structure of communal prayer that shapes the liturgical day. It weaves together psalms, scriptural readings, and fixed prayers to form a framework for daily worship and spiritual discipline. ## The Litany’s Role in Morning Prayer The Litany concludes Morning Prayer on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On these days, it replaces the four prayers that would otherwise end the office: the Prayer for All Those in Civil Authority through the Grace.[^bray-common-prayer-p55] This structural feature gives these three days a different character, moving from individual petitions toward the communal intercessions that constitute the Litany itself.[^bray-common-prayer-p55b] ## Structure and Flexibility The ordering of prayers within the office admits considerable customisation. Prayers and thanksgivings may be inserted at a particular point in either the Litany or in Morning (and Evening) Prayer, positioned immediately before the Prayer of Saint Chrysostom and the Grace.[^bray-common-prayer-p59] This allowance reflects an underlying tension within the Prayer Book tradition between fixed structure and pastoral responsiveness. The possibility of a more expansive set of additional prayers has long been considered, offering rubrical space for local variation and seasonal adaptation.[^bray-common-prayer-p55c] ## Selected passages > ![[assets/covers/bray-common-prayer.jpg|28]] ‘If only there were ==a longer set of prayers== that could be added on.’ > > *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy*, p. 55 ([[sources/scans/bray-common-prayer/How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - 65.jpg|🖼️]]) > ![[assets/covers/bray-common-prayer.jpg|28]] ‘The Litany is the way Morning Prayer concludes on ==Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.==’ > > *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy*, p. 55 ([[sources/scans/bray-common-prayer/How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - 65.jpg|🖼️]]) > ![[assets/covers/bray-common-prayer.jpg|28]] ‘On these days, ==the Litany replaces the last four prayers—== from the Prayer for All Those in Civil Authority on page 14 through the Grace on page 16.’ > > *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy*, p. 55 ([[sources/scans/bray-common-prayer/How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - 65.jpg|🖼️]]) ## Appearances - *How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy*, Samuel L. Bray and Drew Nathaniel Keane - 4 Further Up and Further In, pp. 55–59 ## Related [[Litany]] . [[Book of Common Prayer]] . [[Morning and Evening Prayer]] . [[Liturgical Prayer]] . [[Liturgical Structure and Consistency]] . [[Intercession]] . [[Prayer Book Revisions and Adaptations]] [^bray-common-prayer-p55]: [[How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - A Guide to the Anglican Liturgy]], p. 55 ([[sources/scans/bray-common-prayer/How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - 65.jpg|🖼️]]) . ‘On these days, **the Litany replaces the last four prayers—** from the Prayer for All Those in Civil Authority on page 14 through the Grace on page 16.’ [^bray-common-prayer-p55b]: Ibid. ([[sources/scans/bray-common-prayer/How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - 65.jpg|🖼️]]) . ‘The Litany is the way Morning Prayer concludes on **Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.**’ [^bray-common-prayer-p59]: Ibid., p. 59 ([[sources/scans/bray-common-prayer/How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - 69.jpg|🖼️]]) . ‘That means **you can insert any of these prayers and thanksgivings right before the Prayer of Saint Chrysostom and the Grace-** the last two prayers said in the Litany or in Morning or Evening Prayer.’ [^bray-common-prayer-p55c]: Ibid., p. 55 ([[sources/scans/bray-common-prayer/How to Use the Book of Common Prayer - 65.jpg|🖼️]]) . ‘If only there were **a longer set of prayers** that could be added on.’