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Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep
How can we trust God in the dark? Framed around the nighttime prayer of Compline, Tish Harrison Warren, author of Liturgy of the Ordinary, explores themes of human vulnerability, suffering, and God's seeming absence. When she navigated a time of doubt and loss, the prayer was grounding for her. She writes: "It was this practice that gave me words for my anxiety and grief and allowed me to reencounter doctrines of the church--the church's claims about reality--not as rational, tidy little antidotes for pain but as a light in darkness, as good news." Where do we find comfort when we lie awake worrying or weeping in the night? This book offers a prayerful and frank approach to the difficulties in our ordinary lives at work, at home, and in a world filled with uncertainty.
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First published January 26, 2021
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About the author
Tish Harrison Warren
20 books706 followersTish Harrison Warren is a priest in the Anglican Church in North America. After eight years with InterVarsity Graduate and Faculty Ministries at Vanderbilt and The University of Texas at Austin, she now serves as co-associate rector at Church of the Ascension in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She writes regularly for The Well, CT Women (formerly her.meneutics), and Christianity Today. Her work has also appeared in Comment Magazine, Christ and Pop Culture, Art House America, and elsewhere. She and her husband Jonathan have two young daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,129 reviews
February 19, 2021
I read this on the heels of Liturgy of the Ordinary and I can’t help but feel Trish is a kindred spirit, I loved that she used examples from her own life without making the book about herself. I also wanted to hug her when she quoted the song Show The Way by David Wilcox which really sums up the book well and is a favorite song of mine which no one seems to know.
You say you see no hope
You say you see no reason we should dream
That the world would ever change
You say the love is foolish to believe
'Cause they'll always be some crazy
With an army or a knife
To wake you from your daydream
Put the fear back in your life
Look
If someone wrote a play
To just to glorify what's stronger than hate
Would they not arrange the stage
To look as if the hero came too late?
He's almost in defeat
It's looking like the evil side will when
So on the edge of every seat
From the moment that the whole thing begins
It is love who mixed the mortar
And it's love who stacked these stones
And it's love who made the stage here
Although it looks like we're alone
In this scene, set in shadows,
Like the night is here to stay
There is evil cast around us
But it's love that wrote the play
For in this darkness love can show the way
Now the stage is set
You can feel your own heart beating in your chest
This life's not over yet
So we get up on our feet and do our best
We play against the fear
We play against the reasons not to try
We're playing for the tears
Burning in the happy angel's eyes
For it's love who mixed the mortar
And it's love who stacked these stones
And it's love who made the stage here
Though it looks like we're alone
In this scene, set in shadows,
Like the night is here to stay
There is evil cast around us
But it's love that wrote the play
For in this darkness love will show the way
You say you see no hope
You say you see no reason we should dream
That the world would ever change
You say the love is foolish to believe
'Cause they'll always be some crazy
With an army or a knife
To wake you from your daydream
Put the fear back in your life
Look
If someone wrote a play
To just to glorify what's stronger than hate
Would they not arrange the stage
To look as if the hero came too late?
He's almost in defeat
It's looking like the evil side will when
So on the edge of every seat
From the moment that the whole thing begins
It is love who mixed the mortar
And it's love who stacked these stones
And it's love who made the stage here
Although it looks like we're alone
In this scene, set in shadows,
Like the night is here to stay
There is evil cast around us
But it's love that wrote the play
For in this darkness love can show the way
Now the stage is set
You can feel your own heart beating in your chest
This life's not over yet
So we get up on our feet and do our best
We play against the fear
We play against the reasons not to try
We're playing for the tears
Burning in the happy angel's eyes
For it's love who mixed the mortar
And it's love who stacked these stones
And it's love who made the stage here
Though it looks like we're alone
In this scene, set in shadows,
Like the night is here to stay
There is evil cast around us
But it's love that wrote the play
For in this darkness love will show the way
July 9, 2022
As one who struggles with a consistent prayer life, I deeply appreciate the prayers that have been passed down to us through liturgy and practice. Tish Harrison Warren has taken the Compline prayer and expounded upon it in such an eloquent way. Each chapter is overflowing with the nuances that accompany this brief, but profound prayer. Included are discussion questions and practices that will bring the book to life for individuals and groups. I am forever changed by the reading of this book and am grateful for the many truths that have been communicated to me through the words inside. The Compline prayer is now a part of my daily practice.
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.
December 19, 2020
The chapter on affliction is worth the price of admission. Warren does not shy away from tough topics on this book. Rather she makes the solid argument again and again, with plenty of sources to back her up, that in the suffering we find God.
August 26, 2021
I recommend this book by Anglican priest Tish Harrison Warren for anyone that has gone through a deconstruction of their faith, or rejected their faith because of different existential and philosophical reasons, or to someone who is going through a difficult season of grief, confusion, and loss. This book has certainly strengthened my faith in the goodness and love of Christ, and I found it immensely helpful, honest, encouraging, and a great affirmation of hope. It was very brave of Rev. Warren to write about the great grief she experienced after having a miscarriage, losing her father, struggles in her marriage, and how she was able to pray again, find healing, and how her faith was strengthened. These are some of my favorite quotes below from the book,
“Compline speaks to God in the dark. And that’s what I had to learn to do -to pray in the darkness of anxiety and vulnerability, in doubt and disillusionment, it was Compline that gave words to my anxiety and grief and allowed me to reencounter the doctrines of the church not as tidy little antidotes for pain, but as a light in the darkness, as good news.”
“Each day of our lives holds relentless beauty, mercy, grace upon grace-Babies are born healthy every day. Marriages recover from the depths of contempt. Many-not all- of us- awake each day with bodies that work. We can do good work, brew tea, take walks, breathe autumn air, and crunch leaves under our feet. We laugh. We dance. We heal. Cancer goes into remission. People recover from illness. Mangos grow. Dead coral reefs slowly regenerate. These things happen, and they happen by grace. They are gifts from God that we are called to receive with open hands.”
“Because good things to happen. A baffling part about walking with a God who does not keep bad things from happening is that it’s clear that he makes good things happen also-and often. God is maddingly unpredictable and free.”
“..The problem of theodicy cannot be answered. As Flannery O’Connor wrote it is not a ‘problem to be solved, but a mystery to be endured.’”
“Suffering strips away the self. This sounds terribly painful, and it is. But the meaning and object of suffering isn’t pain; it is to learn to give and receive love. God isn’t a sadist who delights using agony to teach us a lesson. But in the alchemy of redemption, God can take what is only sorrow and transform it into the very path by which we learn to love God and let ourselves be loved. This is the strange (and usually unwanted) way of abundant life- the dying necessary to bring resurrection.” -Tish Harrison Warren
“Compline speaks to God in the dark. And that’s what I had to learn to do -to pray in the darkness of anxiety and vulnerability, in doubt and disillusionment, it was Compline that gave words to my anxiety and grief and allowed me to reencounter the doctrines of the church not as tidy little antidotes for pain, but as a light in the darkness, as good news.”
“Each day of our lives holds relentless beauty, mercy, grace upon grace-Babies are born healthy every day. Marriages recover from the depths of contempt. Many-not all- of us- awake each day with bodies that work. We can do good work, brew tea, take walks, breathe autumn air, and crunch leaves under our feet. We laugh. We dance. We heal. Cancer goes into remission. People recover from illness. Mangos grow. Dead coral reefs slowly regenerate. These things happen, and they happen by grace. They are gifts from God that we are called to receive with open hands.”
“Because good things to happen. A baffling part about walking with a God who does not keep bad things from happening is that it’s clear that he makes good things happen also-and often. God is maddingly unpredictable and free.”
“..The problem of theodicy cannot be answered. As Flannery O’Connor wrote it is not a ‘problem to be solved, but a mystery to be endured.’”
“Suffering strips away the self. This sounds terribly painful, and it is. But the meaning and object of suffering isn’t pain; it is to learn to give and receive love. God isn’t a sadist who delights using agony to teach us a lesson. But in the alchemy of redemption, God can take what is only sorrow and transform it into the very path by which we learn to love God and let ourselves be loved. This is the strange (and usually unwanted) way of abundant life- the dying necessary to bring resurrection.” -Tish Harrison Warren
November 25, 2025
In the last chapter, Warren states that the Christian faith is not like a putty nose that can be shaped according to our whims; but, on the other hand, that is its strength. Solid doctrines and ancient words bind us to other believers, past and present, and those include the Book of Common Prayer. Warren breaks down the Compline prayer line by line: who are those who watch or weep? What does it mean to be soothed in suffering, or shielded in joy? This is not a book with pat answers, but rather one which points us toward the old, eternal ones.
March 14, 2021
A luminous book. Warren is a companion in the dark, pointing to the light. Through personal stories and tried-and-true prayers of the church, she helps us learn to navigate with authenticity a world where things don't always go the way we'd like them to.
June 24, 2024
Just beautiful, from start to finish— the best theodicy I’ve ever read. Tish knows suffering and anguish intimately and her words are not cheap. This book easily lands in my top five.
July 13, 2022
“If Mary's son, the giver of all joy, knew anguish, my daughter will as well. So when I pray that God would shield the joyous, I am not praying that God will make all circumstances work in her favor or that her joy will never be mingled with grief.
Instead, we pray that God himself would shield us, that as lesser delights dissolve in the face of pain, we might slowly find where enduring joy lies. And we pray that far under the surface of our lives, however easy or arduous, there would be a deep source of joy, a constant current of love that will never run dry.”
I’ve been trying to understand what it means that God does not primarily want us to be happy. Purity of heart and real holiness is tied up in that understanding somehow, because there are far, far greater goods than having what we want or feeling happy.
I mostly say that here because it’s a bone I have to pick with my current church and their functional theology. I love Tish, I love her writing and her enjoyment of the pleasures of life. This book is full of that enjoyment, but it’s also really compassionate, and really grounded in a long history of Jesus followers who knew what it meant to take up their cross. Per crucem ad lucem. Through the cross to the light.
What’s most important about this book is that it’s very self aware, and very adamant that God does not give us crosses for the hell of it (pun intended). The love of Jesus is so sure and trustworthy, even when we go through suffering.
I’m going to start a sad but holy girls club. Come join if you’re having a sad girl summer but know there’s holiness hidden in it. I’m kind of joking but also kind of not.
EDIT: two of my best girls have already said they’re down to join
Instead, we pray that God himself would shield us, that as lesser delights dissolve in the face of pain, we might slowly find where enduring joy lies. And we pray that far under the surface of our lives, however easy or arduous, there would be a deep source of joy, a constant current of love that will never run dry.”
I’ve been trying to understand what it means that God does not primarily want us to be happy. Purity of heart and real holiness is tied up in that understanding somehow, because there are far, far greater goods than having what we want or feeling happy.
I mostly say that here because it’s a bone I have to pick with my current church and their functional theology. I love Tish, I love her writing and her enjoyment of the pleasures of life. This book is full of that enjoyment, but it’s also really compassionate, and really grounded in a long history of Jesus followers who knew what it meant to take up their cross. Per crucem ad lucem. Through the cross to the light.
What’s most important about this book is that it’s very self aware, and very adamant that God does not give us crosses for the hell of it (pun intended). The love of Jesus is so sure and trustworthy, even when we go through suffering.
I’m going to start a sad but holy girls club. Come join if you’re having a sad girl summer but know there’s holiness hidden in it. I’m kind of joking but also kind of not.
EDIT: two of my best girls have already said they’re down to join
May 2, 2024
This book was phenomenal. It's going to take me a while to go back through all my notes and pull some favorite sections, but well deserving of purchase to be read (and reread) and underline as you go.
February 13, 2023
Shoobert this book is fantastic. I wrote down so many different thoughts while reading. This review could genuinely be 10 pages, but I’ll end with this quote:
“she looked at the life of Jesus. It’s on this story that she anchored her decision about whether she would trust God, without knowing what would happen next”
Life is full of mystery, but one thing we know is that God loves us from the outset, not based on the outcome.
“she looked at the life of Jesus. It’s on this story that she anchored her decision about whether she would trust God, without knowing what would happen next”
Life is full of mystery, but one thing we know is that God loves us from the outset, not based on the outcome.
July 4, 2023
One of the kindest books I’ve ever read. It felt like a balm to my soul.
If you know anyone who is suffering or grieving, this book would be a fantastic gift. I got it as a gift and it’s been one of the only Christian books I’ve been able to read in my mourning. I think I highlighted more than I didn’t.
Tish balances the pain of theodicy with the comfort that we CAN and WILL find by trusting in God.
Will be referencing from years to come.
If you know anyone who is suffering or grieving, this book would be a fantastic gift. I got it as a gift and it’s been one of the only Christian books I’ve been able to read in my mourning. I think I highlighted more than I didn’t.
Tish balances the pain of theodicy with the comfort that we CAN and WILL find by trusting in God.
Will be referencing from years to come.
March 16, 2025
While I'm not an official member of the Renovare Book Club, this season, I have chosen to read their book selections. This was the third book of their four for this season, and by far the best one, yet. I am so glad I read this book.
In Prayer in the Night, Tish Harrison Warren takes one of the prayers used for Compline (the fixed-hour prayer to be prayed before going to sleep each night), and breaks it down for us, phrase by phrase. The prayer goes like this: “Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; all for your love’s sake. Amen.”
There is so much good stuff in this book, I could write a book-length review of it. Fortunately, I don't have that much time.
The book is, to a great degree, about vulnerability. Because we are more vulnerable at night. Night takes a toll on all of us; if we are sick, we feel worse at night. And the effect of darkness on us . . . can be, at best, depressing, and, at worst, debilitating. Ironically, while I was reading this book, the entire state of Texas wound up in a winter storm warning. We, along with millions of others, were without electricity for almost 35 hours. It was dark by 6:00 PM on the night that fell in the middle of that powerless time. I felt the weight of darkness that night.
The Compline prayer takes us through chaos and pain, and helps us find God in the midst of it. We find a reality that is "larger and more enduring than" whatever we feel in the moment. And I can certainly empathize with Tish when she says that every prayer she has ever prayed is a variant of the prayer prayed by the father of the child in Mark 9:24: "I believe; help my unbelief!" I have prayed that prayer, myself, so many times.
Growing up Southern Baptist, I never was exposed to pre-written prayers. That is regretful. Because when we don't know what to pray, the Church, throughout history has given us wonderful prayers to pray. It's like the Church says to us: "Here are some words. Pray them. They are strong enough to hold you. These will help your unbelief."
Early on, Tish says, "Faith, I've come to believe, is more craft than feeling. and prayer is our chief practice in the craft." This is sort of a touch stone for the whole book, as well as her statement that God cannot be trusted to keep bad things from happening to us. This statement would, of course, make some people furious. But not me. I get it. God cannot be trusted to keep bad things from happening to use because God never promised to keep bad things from happening to us. He allows us to remain vulnerable.
"God did not keep bad things from happening to God himself."
This is also a book about "theodicy," which is defined as "the vindication of divine goodness and providence in view of the existence of evil." Tish describes it as "an existential knife-fight between the reality of our own quaking vulnerability and our hope for a God who can be trusted." Of theodicy, Flannery O'Conner said "It is not 'a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be endured.'"
This book is relevant to our time. It takes a prayer that has existed for, perhaps, centuries, and pulls into 2021, applying to all of the pain and chaos that takes place in our modern world. More irony . . . when Ms. Warren began writing this book she had no idea that we would be in a global pandemic for over twelve months.
This book offers hope. "The hope God offers us is this: he will keep close to us, even in darkness, in doubt, in fear and vulnerability. He does not promise to keep bad things from happening. He does not promise that night will not come, or that it will not be terrifying, or that we will immediately be tugged to shore.
"He promises that we will not be left alone. He will keep watch with us in the night."
This book deals with grief, something that even the Church doesn't do well with, at times. As a people, at least in the Western world, we try to avoid grief. We try to control it. But, she says, " We control it as much as we control the weather."
"As a church, we must learn to slow down and let emptiness remain unfilled. We must make time for grief."
Tish spends a lot of time in the Psalms, here. And that's good, because almost every emotion known to man can be found in the Psalms. It happens to be my personal favorite book of the Bible, because it is full of prayers to which I can turn when I cannot come up with words of my own. I pray something from Psalms every day. And guess what! When David and the other psalmists dared to utter harsh words to God, He did not smite them! "Through the Psalms, he dares us to speak to him bluntly."
One of my favorite quotes from the book came from a refrigerator magnet. "Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end."
Through this book, and the Compline prayer, Tish Harrison Warren takes us through grief, work, anxiety; through sleeping, sickness, weariness, and dying; through suffering and affliction, and then, finally, through joy. "And all for Your love's sake."
I absolutely love this book. I will, most definitely read it again, and probably soon. Close to the end, the author says this, and I believe it sums it up nicely: "In the end, darkness is not explained; it is defeated. Night is not justified or solved; it is endured until light overcomes it and it is no more."
Edited to include my second review. I'm not erasing the first one, because I caught different things both times.
This is my second time to read this book, and I'm pretty sure it won't be my last. I decided to add this to my Lenten season reading list, and I have to say that I got even more out of this book than I did the first time through. That could have everything to do with the way God has been working in my life over the last month or so.
In this book, Tish Harrison Warren, Anglican priest (who now lives and ministers in Austin, TX), takes the traditional Compline prayer and breaks it down. The prayer goes like this: "Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen."
The author gets about as real as possible in this book that starts out with her covered in blood in the ER of a hospital as she is having a miscarriage. She goes through this prayer one phrase at a time, examining what each phrase means and bringing it into real life.
The most powerful statement in the book, in my opinion, is the same one that grabbed me the first time, and that is that God cannot be trusted to keep bad things from happening to us.
Now, I know there are people who would probably be offended (or at least pretend to be) by that statement, but it is 100% true. I'm sorry if you don't agree with it. Actually, no, I'm not. Because God never promised to keep bad things from happening to us, and if you read Psalm 22, you will see that God didn't even keep bad things from happening to Himself!
But this is supposed to be a book review, not a theological treatise.
She speaks of practicing joy in the face of insurmountable odds. She speaks of something called a "prayer of indifference," and I confess that I do not remember this part from the first reading. But that is essentially Mary's prayer when told that she was about to be pregnant with the Son of God. "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." Says Warren, "A prayer of indifference does not deny the goodness of desire, but it is a decision - as far as we are able - to desire God more. With this prayer, we ask to want whatever God wants." So powerful, and I think, perhaps, that I have already added that to my daily prayers, because I begin every prayer session by saying, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth, in my life, and in my heart, as it is in heaven."
Life is a great mystery, and "In the end, the only way to endure this mystery is to put the whole weight of our life on the love of God."
What makes me love Tish so much is her authenticity, and her humble willingness to let us see into the humanity of herself. She relates one time when, after having smudged a cross of ashes on some children in an Ash Wednesday service, spent the rest of the service sobbing in a side room. Because Ash Wednesday reminds us that we are mortal, that we are going to die. "Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return." We don't like to think about children dying.
In a big way, this book is a defense of praying pre-written prayers. Having grown up Southern Baptist, I was taught that our prayers should be ad-libbed, created on the spot, that reciting prayers wasn't authentic. I must say that I am very, very glad that I don't believe that anymore. Because I don't always know what to pray. And when I don't know what to pray, the Church says, "Here are some words. Pray them. They are strong enough to hold you. These will help your unbelief."
They are. And they do.
I recommend this book for anyone who wants to pray better, for anyone who wants to believe harder. And for anyone who is not afraid to be reduced to tears while reading a book. Thank you, Tish Harrison Warren, for writing this!
In Prayer in the Night, Tish Harrison Warren takes one of the prayers used for Compline (the fixed-hour prayer to be prayed before going to sleep each night), and breaks it down for us, phrase by phrase. The prayer goes like this: “Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; all for your love’s sake. Amen.”
There is so much good stuff in this book, I could write a book-length review of it. Fortunately, I don't have that much time.
The book is, to a great degree, about vulnerability. Because we are more vulnerable at night. Night takes a toll on all of us; if we are sick, we feel worse at night. And the effect of darkness on us . . . can be, at best, depressing, and, at worst, debilitating. Ironically, while I was reading this book, the entire state of Texas wound up in a winter storm warning. We, along with millions of others, were without electricity for almost 35 hours. It was dark by 6:00 PM on the night that fell in the middle of that powerless time. I felt the weight of darkness that night.
The Compline prayer takes us through chaos and pain, and helps us find God in the midst of it. We find a reality that is "larger and more enduring than" whatever we feel in the moment. And I can certainly empathize with Tish when she says that every prayer she has ever prayed is a variant of the prayer prayed by the father of the child in Mark 9:24: "I believe; help my unbelief!" I have prayed that prayer, myself, so many times.
Growing up Southern Baptist, I never was exposed to pre-written prayers. That is regretful. Because when we don't know what to pray, the Church, throughout history has given us wonderful prayers to pray. It's like the Church says to us: "Here are some words. Pray them. They are strong enough to hold you. These will help your unbelief."
Early on, Tish says, "Faith, I've come to believe, is more craft than feeling. and prayer is our chief practice in the craft." This is sort of a touch stone for the whole book, as well as her statement that God cannot be trusted to keep bad things from happening to us. This statement would, of course, make some people furious. But not me. I get it. God cannot be trusted to keep bad things from happening to use because God never promised to keep bad things from happening to us. He allows us to remain vulnerable.
"God did not keep bad things from happening to God himself."
This is also a book about "theodicy," which is defined as "the vindication of divine goodness and providence in view of the existence of evil." Tish describes it as "an existential knife-fight between the reality of our own quaking vulnerability and our hope for a God who can be trusted." Of theodicy, Flannery O'Conner said "It is not 'a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be endured.'"
This book is relevant to our time. It takes a prayer that has existed for, perhaps, centuries, and pulls into 2021, applying to all of the pain and chaos that takes place in our modern world. More irony . . . when Ms. Warren began writing this book she had no idea that we would be in a global pandemic for over twelve months.
This book offers hope. "The hope God offers us is this: he will keep close to us, even in darkness, in doubt, in fear and vulnerability. He does not promise to keep bad things from happening. He does not promise that night will not come, or that it will not be terrifying, or that we will immediately be tugged to shore.
"He promises that we will not be left alone. He will keep watch with us in the night."
This book deals with grief, something that even the Church doesn't do well with, at times. As a people, at least in the Western world, we try to avoid grief. We try to control it. But, she says, " We control it as much as we control the weather."
"As a church, we must learn to slow down and let emptiness remain unfilled. We must make time for grief."
Tish spends a lot of time in the Psalms, here. And that's good, because almost every emotion known to man can be found in the Psalms. It happens to be my personal favorite book of the Bible, because it is full of prayers to which I can turn when I cannot come up with words of my own. I pray something from Psalms every day. And guess what! When David and the other psalmists dared to utter harsh words to God, He did not smite them! "Through the Psalms, he dares us to speak to him bluntly."
One of my favorite quotes from the book came from a refrigerator magnet. "Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end."
Through this book, and the Compline prayer, Tish Harrison Warren takes us through grief, work, anxiety; through sleeping, sickness, weariness, and dying; through suffering and affliction, and then, finally, through joy. "And all for Your love's sake."
I absolutely love this book. I will, most definitely read it again, and probably soon. Close to the end, the author says this, and I believe it sums it up nicely: "In the end, darkness is not explained; it is defeated. Night is not justified or solved; it is endured until light overcomes it and it is no more."
Edited to include my second review. I'm not erasing the first one, because I caught different things both times.
This is my second time to read this book, and I'm pretty sure it won't be my last. I decided to add this to my Lenten season reading list, and I have to say that I got even more out of this book than I did the first time through. That could have everything to do with the way God has been working in my life over the last month or so.
In this book, Tish Harrison Warren, Anglican priest (who now lives and ministers in Austin, TX), takes the traditional Compline prayer and breaks it down. The prayer goes like this: "Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen."
The author gets about as real as possible in this book that starts out with her covered in blood in the ER of a hospital as she is having a miscarriage. She goes through this prayer one phrase at a time, examining what each phrase means and bringing it into real life.
The most powerful statement in the book, in my opinion, is the same one that grabbed me the first time, and that is that God cannot be trusted to keep bad things from happening to us.
Now, I know there are people who would probably be offended (or at least pretend to be) by that statement, but it is 100% true. I'm sorry if you don't agree with it. Actually, no, I'm not. Because God never promised to keep bad things from happening to us, and if you read Psalm 22, you will see that God didn't even keep bad things from happening to Himself!
But this is supposed to be a book review, not a theological treatise.
She speaks of practicing joy in the face of insurmountable odds. She speaks of something called a "prayer of indifference," and I confess that I do not remember this part from the first reading. But that is essentially Mary's prayer when told that she was about to be pregnant with the Son of God. "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." Says Warren, "A prayer of indifference does not deny the goodness of desire, but it is a decision - as far as we are able - to desire God more. With this prayer, we ask to want whatever God wants." So powerful, and I think, perhaps, that I have already added that to my daily prayers, because I begin every prayer session by saying, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth, in my life, and in my heart, as it is in heaven."
Life is a great mystery, and "In the end, the only way to endure this mystery is to put the whole weight of our life on the love of God."
What makes me love Tish so much is her authenticity, and her humble willingness to let us see into the humanity of herself. She relates one time when, after having smudged a cross of ashes on some children in an Ash Wednesday service, spent the rest of the service sobbing in a side room. Because Ash Wednesday reminds us that we are mortal, that we are going to die. "Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return." We don't like to think about children dying.
In a big way, this book is a defense of praying pre-written prayers. Having grown up Southern Baptist, I was taught that our prayers should be ad-libbed, created on the spot, that reciting prayers wasn't authentic. I must say that I am very, very glad that I don't believe that anymore. Because I don't always know what to pray. And when I don't know what to pray, the Church says, "Here are some words. Pray them. They are strong enough to hold you. These will help your unbelief."
They are. And they do.
I recommend this book for anyone who wants to pray better, for anyone who wants to believe harder. And for anyone who is not afraid to be reduced to tears while reading a book. Thank you, Tish Harrison Warren, for writing this!
April 2, 2024
This book is for anyone who has ever questioned why suffering exists, for anyone who has ever lain awake anxious at night, for anyone who has ever been afraid of the dark. Prayer in the Night is a reflection on a nighttime prayer from the Book of Common Prayer; Warren goes through it line by line. But more broadly, it is a reflection on suffering in general - where God is in suffering, how Christians can understand suffering, and how corporate prayer and worship can help us survive our personal suffering. Warren shares intimately about her own life, but she also shares rich theological principles and conversations. I already know this will be one of the most impactful books I read this year, and I'm already looking forward to re-reading it.
March 1, 2025
This book is a treasured balm to me after a time of suffering. Each chapter is so incredibly rich with theology and the lived experience of suffering, all marked by the gentleness of grace. I will be returning to this over my lifetime as I grieve & encounter the sorrows of this world.
September 1, 2024
If you happen to be walking through a dark time, if you feel vulnerable or like life is too much, this book will be an encouragement to you. It gave me words for my feelings and thoughts that I could't put words to.
Beautifully written ❤
Beautifully written ❤
May 9, 2021
Summary: Both an introduction to Compline and a phrase by phrase reflection using one of the loveliest of Compline prayers.
Keep watch, dear Lord,
with those who work,
or watch,
or weep this night,
and give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend the sick, Lord Christ,
give rest to the weary,
bless the dying,
soothe the suffering,
pity the afflicted,
shield the joyous,
and all for your love's sake.
Amen
Over the last year of the pandemic, I’ve posted on Facebook prayers, morning and evening, (“Collects”) from The Book of Common Prayer. The prayer above, from of the office of Compline, is one of my favorites, and often I think of particular people as I pray each phrase. During the pandemic this has included the working and weary medical personnel, the people keeping vigil for those in ICUs, the sick and sometimes the dying, those afflicted with long-COVID, and others who struggle with chronic pain and illness. Amid this all I think of the joyous including new parents, graduates, and all of us who have received vaccines. I think of angels watching over and guarding us in the vulnerable moments of our nightly rest. I rest in the care of the Lord who watches for love’s sake.
Thus it was with great delight that I discovered on opening Prayer in the Night that it is organized around this loved prayer. Tish Harrison Warren takes us through her own journey of praying compline, most notably one night with her husband in an emergency room as she hemorrhaged severely during a miscarriage. She introduces us to Compline, the last of the prayers of the hours or offices, to be prayed at night before retiring. She writes of how Compline helped her at a time of loss of a baby and of her father:
“Compline speaks to God in the dark. And that’s what I had to learn to do–to pray in the darkness of anxiety and vulnerability, in doubt and disillusionment. It was Compline that gave words to my anxiety and grief and allowed me to reencounter the doctrines of the church not as tidy little antidotes for pain, but as a light in darkness, as good news.”
TISH HARRISON WARREN, P. 19.
In succeeding chapters, Warren offers reflections on each phrase of this prayer that come out of her lived experience with praying it. She begins by discussing the God to whom we pray in the dark, and how the prayers operate as cairns, rock structures, that help us keep on the path when we can only feel our way along in fog or the dark. She then turns to the way of the vulnerable–those who weep or watch or work, taking the phrases in reverse order. She concludes:
“Taken together, working and watching and weeping are a way to endure the mystery of theodicy. They are a faithful response to our shared human tragedy–but only when we hold all three together, giving space and energy to each, both as individuals and as the church.”
TISH HARRISON WARREN, P. 75.
From this she turns to what she calls “a taxonomy of vulnerability.” She describes her renewed understanding of the care of the angels in our sleep as she prayed for her first child each night. Her reflection on sickness includes insights into the wonders of our bodies that we often take for granted until illness. In weariness we are offered rest, one to learn from, and one who intercedes for us. Prayer for the dying reminds us of our own death and how we are taught to live in light of it and our resurrection hope. Suffering and affliction take us into new places of dependence upon God in our weakness, and call the church into depths we are reluctant to go. Then there is the risk of disappointment in joy and our need to be shielded here as well.
Finally, Warren concludes by exploring how God invites us into a deeper encounter with his love. In the night. When we doubt. In our illness and vulnerability. In suffering and affliction. The love of God, revealed in Christ, is the last word of this prayer.
The writing about goodness, truth, and beauty one finds in Warren’s prose is humbling. All I can say is what is found in this book is so much better and richer than my summary. Warren helps me pray a prayer I’ve loved with deeper meaning and consciousness of my vulnerability and the depths of God’s care. She offers good direction for all of us facing “night” in our lives.
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Keep watch, dear Lord,
with those who work,
or watch,
or weep this night,
and give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend the sick, Lord Christ,
give rest to the weary,
bless the dying,
soothe the suffering,
pity the afflicted,
shield the joyous,
and all for your love's sake.
Amen
Over the last year of the pandemic, I’ve posted on Facebook prayers, morning and evening, (“Collects”) from The Book of Common Prayer. The prayer above, from of the office of Compline, is one of my favorites, and often I think of particular people as I pray each phrase. During the pandemic this has included the working and weary medical personnel, the people keeping vigil for those in ICUs, the sick and sometimes the dying, those afflicted with long-COVID, and others who struggle with chronic pain and illness. Amid this all I think of the joyous including new parents, graduates, and all of us who have received vaccines. I think of angels watching over and guarding us in the vulnerable moments of our nightly rest. I rest in the care of the Lord who watches for love’s sake.
Thus it was with great delight that I discovered on opening Prayer in the Night that it is organized around this loved prayer. Tish Harrison Warren takes us through her own journey of praying compline, most notably one night with her husband in an emergency room as she hemorrhaged severely during a miscarriage. She introduces us to Compline, the last of the prayers of the hours or offices, to be prayed at night before retiring. She writes of how Compline helped her at a time of loss of a baby and of her father:
“Compline speaks to God in the dark. And that’s what I had to learn to do–to pray in the darkness of anxiety and vulnerability, in doubt and disillusionment. It was Compline that gave words to my anxiety and grief and allowed me to reencounter the doctrines of the church not as tidy little antidotes for pain, but as a light in darkness, as good news.”
TISH HARRISON WARREN, P. 19.
In succeeding chapters, Warren offers reflections on each phrase of this prayer that come out of her lived experience with praying it. She begins by discussing the God to whom we pray in the dark, and how the prayers operate as cairns, rock structures, that help us keep on the path when we can only feel our way along in fog or the dark. She then turns to the way of the vulnerable–those who weep or watch or work, taking the phrases in reverse order. She concludes:
“Taken together, working and watching and weeping are a way to endure the mystery of theodicy. They are a faithful response to our shared human tragedy–but only when we hold all three together, giving space and energy to each, both as individuals and as the church.”
TISH HARRISON WARREN, P. 75.
From this she turns to what she calls “a taxonomy of vulnerability.” She describes her renewed understanding of the care of the angels in our sleep as she prayed for her first child each night. Her reflection on sickness includes insights into the wonders of our bodies that we often take for granted until illness. In weariness we are offered rest, one to learn from, and one who intercedes for us. Prayer for the dying reminds us of our own death and how we are taught to live in light of it and our resurrection hope. Suffering and affliction take us into new places of dependence upon God in our weakness, and call the church into depths we are reluctant to go. Then there is the risk of disappointment in joy and our need to be shielded here as well.
Finally, Warren concludes by exploring how God invites us into a deeper encounter with his love. In the night. When we doubt. In our illness and vulnerability. In suffering and affliction. The love of God, revealed in Christ, is the last word of this prayer.
The writing about goodness, truth, and beauty one finds in Warren’s prose is humbling. All I can say is what is found in this book is so much better and richer than my summary. Warren helps me pray a prayer I’ve loved with deeper meaning and consciousness of my vulnerability and the depths of God’s care. She offers good direction for all of us facing “night” in our lives.
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
August 13, 2022
This book may have saved my faith.
January 26, 2021
This book is structured around a compline prayer from the Book of Common Prayer: "Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake."
Tish Harrison Warren writes that during a difficult season in her life, "it was the prayers and practices of the church [including compline] that allowed me to hold to --or rather to be held by--God when little else seemed sturdy even when I found no satisfying answers." Similarly, Warren's words of God, about God, and to God are words that have grounded me deeply in truth because she does not write finding hope in pat answers or saccharine sentiments that give out when the night darkens. This book lives in the in-between spaces of this broken world and the life everlasting because that is where we are. And Warren, in her priestly wisdom, seems to know that what the church needs is someone willing to address the questions or crisis of faith that occur in the midst of suffering, and to do so honestly, vulnerably, without reservation. Prayer in the Night confronts death and darkness, sickness and pain, and somehow does so without reducing or cheapening the light.
Tish Harrison Warren writes that during a difficult season in her life, "it was the prayers and practices of the church [including compline] that allowed me to hold to --or rather to be held by--God when little else seemed sturdy even when I found no satisfying answers." Similarly, Warren's words of God, about God, and to God are words that have grounded me deeply in truth because she does not write finding hope in pat answers or saccharine sentiments that give out when the night darkens. This book lives in the in-between spaces of this broken world and the life everlasting because that is where we are. And Warren, in her priestly wisdom, seems to know that what the church needs is someone willing to address the questions or crisis of faith that occur in the midst of suffering, and to do so honestly, vulnerably, without reservation. Prayer in the Night confronts death and darkness, sickness and pain, and somehow does so without reducing or cheapening the light.
January 2, 2022
“In the end, darkness is not explained; it is defeated. Night is not justified or solved; it is endured until light overcomes it and it is no more.”
I’m honestly sad I’m done reading this book.
“Prayer in the Night” tackles the problem of pain and suffering (theodicy) and how we can trust God in the midst of brokenness by going through the prayer of Compline line by line.
I’ve seen the conversation around theodicy handled in several unhelpful ways, but Tish Harrison Warren is refreshingly honest about her own experience with pain, loss, and how praying Compline was her life line, while always storytelling on the foundation of the truth about God in the Bible. She doesn’t slap a bandaid on suffering. She looks it in the eye, calls it what it is, then poetically shows God’s presence and redemption in every moment.
“Prayer in the Night” impacted how I pray, how I approach prayer, and my gratitude for the prayers of others (Psalms, Book of Common Prayer, Every Moment Holy). This book has also equipped me with kind, Scriptural language for how to process and talk about pain.
I’m grateful for this book and I cannot recommend it enough.
I’m honestly sad I’m done reading this book.
“Prayer in the Night” tackles the problem of pain and suffering (theodicy) and how we can trust God in the midst of brokenness by going through the prayer of Compline line by line.
I’ve seen the conversation around theodicy handled in several unhelpful ways, but Tish Harrison Warren is refreshingly honest about her own experience with pain, loss, and how praying Compline was her life line, while always storytelling on the foundation of the truth about God in the Bible. She doesn’t slap a bandaid on suffering. She looks it in the eye, calls it what it is, then poetically shows God’s presence and redemption in every moment.
“Prayer in the Night” impacted how I pray, how I approach prayer, and my gratitude for the prayers of others (Psalms, Book of Common Prayer, Every Moment Holy). This book has also equipped me with kind, Scriptural language for how to process and talk about pain.
I’m grateful for this book and I cannot recommend it enough.
January 11, 2022
A really beautiful book. Not only does Warren draw you into a prayerful posture towards suffering and God, but she introduces you to so many other saints along the way. I really appreciate this particular approach to theodicy, one that is rich in poetic imagination, draws deeply from the wells of the Great Tradition, and is deeply personal for the author.
February 27, 2022
Absolutely beautiful book. Basically her commentary of the compline prayer from the book of common prayer….but whether you use liturgical prayers or not…this book makes you fall in love with prayer as a mysterious spiritual discipline.
April 28, 2022
Brilliant. I love this book. I want everyone I love to read this book.
March 5, 2023
This book is one of my favorites! It is based off of the prayer of Compline and speaks to those in difficult seasons. Tish’s vulnerability and grace pointed me towards a God who sees my humanity and welcomes me into his presence. I was brought to tears numerous times.
This is a great book to read in small bites!
This is a great book to read in small bites!
October 15, 2024
The best book I have read on prayer. Tish Harrison Warren is a gift to the church. I will definitely return to this book in the future.
December 25, 2021
I don’t come from a church background of written prayers, but the more I am exposed to them, the more I love them.
“Patterns of prayer draw us out of ourselves, out of our own timebound moment, into the long story of Christ’s work in and through his people over time,” Warren writes.
In this book, she works line by line through the words of an evening prayer: “Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.”
Night exposes our vulnerability and with it, often, our deepest struggles. Pain becomes endless. Grief feels unbearable. Fear reaches a crescendo.
“When we’re drowning we need a lifeline, and our lifeline in grief cannot be mere optimism that maybe our circumstances will improve because we know that may not be true. We need practices that don’t simply palliate our fears or pain, but that teach us to walk with God in the crucible of our own fragility.”
Prayer is one of those practices. Each phrase from this one has its own chapter. I loved them all, from the very first about the presence of God implied in the words “keep watch.”
“He does not promise to keep bad things from happening. He does not promise that night will not come, or that it will not be terrifying, or that we will immediately be tugged to shore. He promises that we will not be left alone. He will keep watch with us in the night.”
I loved her perspective on weeping – the commonality of grief, which she calls “the white noise of all human experience.”
She looks to the Psalms to learn how to respond to that noise.
“They never say, ‘Chin up,’ or ‘It’s not so bad.’ Nor do they tell us why we suffer. Instead they fix our vision on God’s love for us, and teach us to locate our own pain and longing in God’s eternal drama. They form us into a people who can hold the depths of our sorrow with utter honesty even as we hold to the promises of God.”
Watching, she says, is being on the lookout for grace. Work, “done well, adds truth, beauty, and goodness to the world. It pushes back the darkness.”
Even sleep is so much more than I tend to think: “God designed the universe – and our bodies themselves—so that each day we must face the fact that we are not the stars on center stage. … Each night the revolution of planets, the activity of angels and the work of God in the world goes on just fine without us. For the Christian, sleep is an embodied way to confess our trust that the work of God does not depend on us.”
My family has begun to incorporate this Compline prayer into our evening routine. I love working through the phrases and thinking about Christians through the centuries who have grappled with the same mysteries we do.
“It’s about how to continue to walk the way of faith without denying the darkness. It’s about the terrible yet common suffering we each shoulder, and what trusting God might mean in the midst of it.”
“Patterns of prayer draw us out of ourselves, out of our own timebound moment, into the long story of Christ’s work in and through his people over time,” Warren writes.
In this book, she works line by line through the words of an evening prayer: “Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen.”
Night exposes our vulnerability and with it, often, our deepest struggles. Pain becomes endless. Grief feels unbearable. Fear reaches a crescendo.
“When we’re drowning we need a lifeline, and our lifeline in grief cannot be mere optimism that maybe our circumstances will improve because we know that may not be true. We need practices that don’t simply palliate our fears or pain, but that teach us to walk with God in the crucible of our own fragility.”
Prayer is one of those practices. Each phrase from this one has its own chapter. I loved them all, from the very first about the presence of God implied in the words “keep watch.”
“He does not promise to keep bad things from happening. He does not promise that night will not come, or that it will not be terrifying, or that we will immediately be tugged to shore. He promises that we will not be left alone. He will keep watch with us in the night.”
I loved her perspective on weeping – the commonality of grief, which she calls “the white noise of all human experience.”
She looks to the Psalms to learn how to respond to that noise.
“They never say, ‘Chin up,’ or ‘It’s not so bad.’ Nor do they tell us why we suffer. Instead they fix our vision on God’s love for us, and teach us to locate our own pain and longing in God’s eternal drama. They form us into a people who can hold the depths of our sorrow with utter honesty even as we hold to the promises of God.”
Watching, she says, is being on the lookout for grace. Work, “done well, adds truth, beauty, and goodness to the world. It pushes back the darkness.”
Even sleep is so much more than I tend to think: “God designed the universe – and our bodies themselves—so that each day we must face the fact that we are not the stars on center stage. … Each night the revolution of planets, the activity of angels and the work of God in the world goes on just fine without us. For the Christian, sleep is an embodied way to confess our trust that the work of God does not depend on us.”
My family has begun to incorporate this Compline prayer into our evening routine. I love working through the phrases and thinking about Christians through the centuries who have grappled with the same mysteries we do.
“It’s about how to continue to walk the way of faith without denying the darkness. It’s about the terrible yet common suffering we each shoulder, and what trusting God might mean in the midst of it.”
October 15, 2021
Who Should Read This Book - Anyone who prays or wants to pray.
What’s the Big Takeaway - We can learn to pray from the great tradition of the church, specifically the prayer at night (compline) which gives us words to pray when we don’t know what to say.
And a quote - “When we’re drowning we need a lifeline, and our lifeline in grief cannot be mere optimism that maybe our circumstances will improve because we know that may not be true. We need practices that don’t simply palliative our fears or pain, but that teach us to walk with God in the crucible of our own fragility” (19).
Tish Harrison Warren’s Liturgy of the Ordinary is one of my three favorite books on spiritual disciplines of all time. Maybe my favorite, So I was excited to begin reading her follow up book.
This one is raw as she shares some difficult personal stories. Its filled with wisdom, both from Warren and from the historic church. Warren is a great writer and I believe any Christian could benefit from her work. My small group read her last book together and this would be another good book to read in groups. Along with that, she manages to introduce readers to the wisdom of the church from Isaac the Syrian and Benedict of Nursia to CS Lewis and David Bentley Hart and many more.
As someone who desire to move deeper into prayer, I value this book. Especially because while I manage to be pretty disciplined in the morning, I regularly forget to do the evening prayers. Warren’s book draws me to the prayer of Compline.
What’s the Big Takeaway - We can learn to pray from the great tradition of the church, specifically the prayer at night (compline) which gives us words to pray when we don’t know what to say.
And a quote - “When we’re drowning we need a lifeline, and our lifeline in grief cannot be mere optimism that maybe our circumstances will improve because we know that may not be true. We need practices that don’t simply palliative our fears or pain, but that teach us to walk with God in the crucible of our own fragility” (19).
Tish Harrison Warren’s Liturgy of the Ordinary is one of my three favorite books on spiritual disciplines of all time. Maybe my favorite, So I was excited to begin reading her follow up book.
This one is raw as she shares some difficult personal stories. Its filled with wisdom, both from Warren and from the historic church. Warren is a great writer and I believe any Christian could benefit from her work. My small group read her last book together and this would be another good book to read in groups. Along with that, she manages to introduce readers to the wisdom of the church from Isaac the Syrian and Benedict of Nursia to CS Lewis and David Bentley Hart and many more.
As someone who desire to move deeper into prayer, I value this book. Especially because while I manage to be pretty disciplined in the morning, I regularly forget to do the evening prayers. Warren’s book draws me to the prayer of Compline.
May 20, 2021
If you are human, you’ve walked through darkness. Whether death, betrayal, depression, failure, or privation, we each endure a portion of life’s sorrows. Too often we try to temper these pains with the good things of life, as if that will cause our hearts to forget the weight of darkness. Such attempts don’t work. But God meets us in the night, weeps with us in it, and offers treasures found only in darkness. This is what Tish Harrison Warren writes about, pointing to the inherited prayers and practices of the church to help us reach toward God when we can’t see our way toward him in the dark. My heart needed this balm. I cannot recommend it enough.
“We take up prayer not out of triumphant victory or unimpeachable trust but because prayer shapes us; it works back on us to change who we are and what we believe. Patterns of prayer draw us out of ourselves… into the long story of Christ’s work in and through his people over time.” (9)
“We take up prayer not out of triumphant victory or unimpeachable trust but because prayer shapes us; it works back on us to change who we are and what we believe. Patterns of prayer draw us out of ourselves… into the long story of Christ’s work in and through his people over time.” (9)
September 29, 2021
a life changing take on grief and suffering. this book has shaped my viewpoint of what it means to be vulnerable with Christ in the darkest moments of life, to pray through seasons of darkness and fear and deep sadness, to recognize that there is no time table to healing or when a night may end, but that we can trust that healing is always offered and that morning will in deed come eventually because of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus.
May 28, 2023
This book 😭. Beautifully crafted, true and rich in theology. I highly recommend.
November 10, 2024
Such a deep and profound book, and yet written in such an approachable and conversational way. In a season of difficulty and suffering, this book opened my eyes to the beauty of Compline, a nighttime prayer of the church…the chapter on suffering was a catalyst for a deeper understanding of brokenness and sorrow and submission that led to unexplained peace and joy, and the final chapter laid out the beautiful, extravagant, kind-hearted love of God. “The most defining truth about us is that we are beloved.” I cannot recommend this book enough for anyone facing a season of doubt or disappointment or loss, not because there are neat little antidotes for pain or suffering, but because this ancient prayer of the church leads us straight to the heart of God, which is love, in spite of, and in the midst of, vulnerability and suffering.
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