When I pray with
my Anglican prayer beads I start with the Gloria on the Invitatory Bead.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
On the first Cruciform Bead I pray a version of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6.5) along with Leviticus 19.18, what are called The Greatest Commandments, what Scot McKnight has called "the Jesus creed":
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind. And you shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.
But just to make sure I don't forget what Jesus means when he uses the word "neighbor," I add a bit from this passage in the Sermon on the Mount:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven."
So my regular prayer, in full, is as follows:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself. And you shall love your enemies.
Deuteronomy 6.5 + Leviticus 19.18 + Matthew 5.44
