A Grace-Shaped Anglican
Rule of Life
By Rev. Casey Bedell
This booklet provides an intentional framework to support one’s life in Jesus Christ
“At its best, a rule is not about performance, but participation in what God has done and is already doing.” —Rev. Casey Bedell
“When I feel that I have become cold and listless in prayer because of other tasks or thoughts (for the flesh and the devil always impede and obstruct prayer), I take my little psalter, hurry to my room, or, if it be the day and hour for it, to the church where a congregation is assembled and, as time permits, I say the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and, if I have time, some words of Christ or of Paul, or some psalms, out loud to myself just as a child might do.”
– Martin Luther, A Simple Way to Pray
Table of Contents
Introduction
Originating from the monastic tradition, the term "rule" comes from the Latin word regula, which means a "trellis" or a "straight piece of wood" used as a ruler. A rule of life, historically, served as a guide or support for growth, rather than a rigid set of laws. Spiritually speaking, a rule of life is not a ladder to climb but a trellis—an intentional framework that supports one’s spiritual growth by abiding in Christ, receiving his life, joining in his work, and belonging to his people.
Early Christians, like St. Augustine and St. Benedict, understood a rule was not a means to go up in striving, but simply a way to dwell more deeply in the One who has already come down to us in grace and truth. Later Christians, like Martin Luther and Thomas Cranmer, recovered this with simple prayer books shaped by the gospel of grace. At its best, a rule is not about performance, but participation in what God has done and is already doing.
This rule of life assumes the user has a living faith in the person of Jesus Christ and knows God’s unchanging favor rest on them by virtue of what Christ has done, not what he or she does. This rule aims simply at stability, obedience, and deeper conversion of life—not as achievements but as postures of receiving grace. It offers intentional rhythms to help us all live as pilgrims within God’s family who are already loved and on our way home—not earning, but receiving. The following rule draws from Holy Scripture, and works out of the Anglican tradition’s Book of Common Prayer—thus a grace-shaped Anglican rule of life.
A Sonnet for St Benedict by Malcom Guite
You sought to start a simple school of prayer,
A modest, gentle, moderate attempt,
With nothing made too harsh or hard to bear,
No treating or retreating with contempt,
A little rule, a small obedience
That sets aside, and tills the chosen ground,
Fruitful humility, chosen innocence,
A binding by which freedom might be found
You call us all to live, and see good days,
Centre in Christ and enter in his peace,
To seek his Way amidst our many ways,
Find blessedness in blessing, peace in praise,
To clear and keep for Love a sacred space
That we might be beginners in God’s grace.
Guiding Values
Gospel-Driven
Practice-Oriented
Liturgically-Grounded
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Gospel: Faith comes by hearing
Practice: Daily Scripture reading
Liturgy: “Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them” (Collect from BCP)
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Gospel: God’s love is one-way
Practice: Formation not earning
Liturgy: "We do not presume to come...trusting in our own righteousness” (Holy Communion)
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Gospel: Honesty about human frailty and failure
Practice: Practices for limited humans
Liturgy: "We have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep...” (Confession)
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Gospel: Rest in Christ > Hustle
Practice: Abide in Christ
Liturgy: Daily Office, Sabbath, Eucharist
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Gospel: God holds us fast
Practice: Stay—don’t flee
Liturgy: Rule of Benedict: stabilitas loci expressed in parish rootedness
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Gospel: Jesus obeyed for us
Practice: Listening before leading
Liturgy: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening…” (1 Samuel 3)
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Gospel: Grace makes change possible
Practice: Repentance and renewal
Liturgy: Baptismal covenant, Ash Wednesday
Rule of Life Structure
This rule uses four movements, seen through an Anglican lens, and filtered through the gospel of grace.
These four movements can be applied daily, weekly, monthly, or in an ongoing manner.
1. Abide in Christ
Prayer, Scripture, Presence, and Rest, not productivity
Daily:
Prayer: Use Daily Office from 2019 BCP pp. 11-65, or short form pp. 66-78, or virtual Daily Office App.
Scripture: Follow Daily Office Lectionary from BCP pp. 738–763 or choose a Psalm and NT reading from the Office.
Presence: 5–10 minutes of silence or “being still” before the Lord.
Weekly:
Attend Holy Eucharist: Receive Christ, not earn favor.
Practice Sabbath: One full day (or portion) of rest, joy, play, and ceasing from obligation. Limit technology use.
Gospel Filter: You're not being graded on your prayer life. Jesus already passed the test.
Anglican Lens: You're participating in a tradition of ancient rhythms that shape the heart gently over time.
“The same way we crave food because our bodies need it, we crave grace because it answers our real, objective spiritual predicaments: guilt, lack of love, death, separation from God. Our felt need is trustworthy—a corollary to our need for the God who is personified in his Son. Which is to say, our thirst for grace may wax and wane according to cultural conditions, but it is no social construct. Grace lies at the heart of the universe and is stamped into the fabric of creation. God’s disposition runs gloriously rampant in the world.”
–Dave Zahl, The Big Relief
2. Receive His Life
Formation by Grace, not self-improvement
Daily:
Short Examen-style reflection at night: “Where did I see grace today? Where did I resist it?”
Weekly:
Confession of sin during Sunday Eucharist or privately using the Litany of Penitence (BCP p. 547).
Carry the Collect of the Day from Sunday Eucharist into the week to anchor your prayers (BCP pp. 598-623).
Read a chapter from a grace-soaked book or devotional. Suggestions:
St. Augustine: Confessions
Martin Luther: A Simple Way to Pray
Dave Zahl: The Big Relief
Tim Keller: The Prodigal God
Dane Ortlund: Gentle & Lowly
Sinclair Ferguson: The Whole Christ
Pray the Litany of Thanksgiving (BCP p. 680)
Monthly:
Make space for praying The Great Litany (BCP p. 91)
Schedule pastoral confession (BCP p. 223) if desired, or meet with a trusted friend to whom you can honestly confess.
Gospel Filter: You can be honest because you’re already forgiven.
Anglican Lens: Confession is not condemnation, but the means of grace.
“You don’t need to unburden or collect yourself and then come to Jesus. Your very burden is what qualifies you to come. No payment is required; he says, “I will give you rest.” His rest is gift, not transaction. Whether you are actively working hard to crowbar your life into smoothness (“labor”) or passively finding yourself weighed down by something outside your control (“heavy laden”), Jesus Christ’s desire that you find rest, that you come in out of the storm, outstrips even your own.”
― Dane C. Ortlund, Gentle & Lowly
3. Join His Work
Love through humble service, not religious striving
Weekly:
Serve one person in a quiet, unrecognized way.
Practice hospitality—welcome strangers, invite someone for a meal or coffee, even if it’s imperfect.
Monthly:
Volunteer in your parish or neighborhood without expectation of reward.
Ongoing:
Practice “interruptibility” – be open to divine appointments.
Gospel Filter: You are not the Messiah. You get to rest in grace and pass it along.
Anglican Lens: Our faith is embodied in acts of love through humble service and callings of the Church.
“If we come to think of God as one whose total focus is on exposing our sin, we will become too shortsighted to see his grace. We will be plagued by a spirit of doubting and mistrusting the Father of lights, who gives his good gifts to us. We will find that we have become incapable of responding to him (and his law) within the father-child bond of love.”
– Sinclair Ferguson, The Whole Christ
4. Belong to His Body
Connected, not curated
Weekly:
Participate in Christian fellowship—home group, Bible study, or coffee with a spiritual friend.
Use Compline (BCP p. 57) with a brother or sister in Christ as a way to calmly end the day.
Monthly:
Reach out to one person intentionally with presence and prayer.
Attend or host a simple meal liturgy (e.g., use a Daily Office corporately before a shared meal).
Gospel Filter: Your weakness is welcome here.
Anglican Lens: The Body of Christ is real and physical—we meet Jesus in others.
“The Church even now is the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of heaven. Accordingly, even now His saints reign with Him, though otherwise than as they shall reign hereafter; and yet, though the tares grow in the Church along with the wheat, they do not reign with Him. For they reign with Him who do what the apostle says, 'If you are risen with Christ, mind the things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Seek those things which are above, not the things which are on the earth.’”
– St. Augustine, The City of God
Practical Rhythms Summary
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Practice: Scripture Reading, Daily Office, Silence, Examen
Tools: Morning/Evening Prayer, Daily Lectionary, Collects
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Practice: Holy Eucharist, Sabbath, Confession, Hospitality
Tools: Sunday Liturgy, Litany of Penitence, Psalms
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Practice: Reflective reading, Extended examen, Agape meal, Volunteer
Tools: Reconciliation rite, seasonal collects
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Practice: Interruptibility, Grace-filled service, Honest friendships
Tools: The rhythms of the Church Year & Sacraments
From Morning Prayer, BCP 2019, p. 14
"Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time...
...Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us, granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.”
Citations & Notes: Scripture from the English Standard Version © 2001 Crossway Bibles. Liturgy follows the Book of Common Prayer © 2019 Anglican Liturgy Press. This work is free to use, adapt, and remix for any purpose. Please credit the original author.