As a good conservative kid, I grew up knowing that the best prayers are original, spontaneous, lofty, and long. Using prayers someone else wrote a long time ago - even good ones - was not acceptable; prayers needed to be generated on-the-fly, or God wouldn’t listen.

George Hunter’s description of the prayers written (or rather, spoken and memorized) by Celtic Christians struck me powerfully:

…contemplative prayer contrasts with the more usual approach of praying at a specific time or meeting, and it contrasts with the mroe usualy petitionary approach that “requests God to do specific things.” Indeed, it is “the opposite of controlling prayer.” Contemplative prayer is the way we fulfill St. Paul’s counsel to “pray without ceasing.” It is an ongoing, or very frequent, opening of the heart to the Triune God, often while engaging in each of the many experiences that fill a day. The Celtic Way of Evangelism, p32-33

Growing up in church, I can say honestly that I was never taught how to pray. Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them, and I can now see why. It’s not hard to pray, but it is hard to pray often and pray consistently. Bedtime prayers are a great starting place, but not if you’re dead tired and fall asleep instantly when you hit the sheets.

Hunter explains how the Celtic Christians pursued such contemplative prayer:

The Carmina Gadelica tradition gave people brief daily rituals, which they learned by heart, with suggested affirmations or prayers for directing their hearts, moment by moment, setting by setting. The Celtic Christians learned prayers to accompany getting up in the morning, for dressing, for starting the morning fire, for bathing or washing clothes or dishes, for “smooring” the fire at days end, and for going to bed at night. p33

I need prayers like this.
Prayers for making coffee
Prayers for washing my hands
Prayers for shampooing my hair (good wasted prayer time!)
Prayers for making ice and filling the water pitcher that goes in the fridge
Prayers for starting the car (which will eventually depend more and more on such prayers!)
Prayers for driving to work
Prayers for watching kids pass in the halls
Prayers for waiting for my email to download
Prayers for waiting for WinXP to kill Outlook, which has frozen for the third time that day
Prayers for doing dishes
Prayers for grading papers that all say basically the same thing
Prayers for swallowing proud words that would hurt others
Prayers for meeting God in the ordinary, and becoming a person who is prepared to meet God in the mountaintop times.
Edit:
Prayers for planning lessons
Prayers for doing things I don’t want to do
Prayers for paying bills
Prayers for that flash of anger that I feel sometimes
Prayers for locking the door
Prayers for leaving on a trip
Prayers for putting on a sweater
Prayers for feeling the warmth of sunlight

I looked up the Ray Simpson book below and noticed that he refers to them as “blessings.” I think of “May the road rise to meet you…” when I hear that word. I don’t want to pray things like that; I want prayers that will focus my mind on God amid the ordinary and mundane.

Links and suggested prayers are welcome in the comments. See also Ray Simpson, Celtic Blessings: Prayers for Everyday Life.