While I
was in college completing my Religion degree, the professor that taught our
Christian worship class was an Anglican priest. He introduced our class to the Book of Common Prayer. This initial
acquaintance with the use of written prayer in correspondence to the Church
Year grew my interest in the practice of praying at certain times throughout
the day. This is known as “fixed-hour prayer,” or praying the daily offices.
Many
prayer books have been created to help Christians incorporate this practice of
prayer into their daily lives. I’d like to share the ones I have found the most
useful over the years. Perhaps you are already familiar with these titles and
their use, but if you are not, then I will give summaries of how the books are
to be used and what their best features are so that you can give them a try.
Praying the daily offices has helped my spiritual formation in ways that
nothing else could, and I want to share so that others might experience the
same growth.
Common Prayer, A
Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne,
Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro, published by Zondervan.
This book
is definitely the most easy to use of all the prayer books, but it is also the thickest.
The most convenient way to use this book is to download it as a purchase from
Amazon onto a Kindle and then go through day by day. The book begins with the
section for evening prayer, one order for each day of the week. The next
section of the book is for Morning Prayer, starting with December which is
consistent with Advent as the start of a new church year.
Each day
of the year is represented in the Morning
Prayer section. The order for prayer on any given day begins with a brief
biography of a saint, followed by the Gloria,
a suggested song title, a psalm, a Scripture reading, and written prayers. This
book also has a section of collected occasional prayer that are written out and
can be used on specific occasions. The last section of the book is a songbook
with melody lines, chord symbols, and lyrics for a variety of hymns that
correspond to the liturgy expressed in the Morning
Prayer section.
What I
like about Common Prayer: This book
makes routine morning and evening prayers and the rich liturgy found in them
quite accessible. All a person needs to do is sit down, open up to a certain
day, and read. Everything has been woven together to make for a quick and
simple prayer experience. This book is a good place to start for the person who
is new to structured prayer times.
Seeking God’s Face,
Co-published by Faith Alive Resources and the Calvin Institute for Christian
Worship.
This
prayer book offers one order of prayer for each day of the year. It does not
necessarily follow a fixed-hour style of prayer, but rather uses the format of
one of the daily offices, and then leaves the choices to the reader of which
time of the day to pray.
The various
sections of the order of prayer found in Seeking
God’s Face include the Invitation, a psalm and a second passage of
Scripture from either the Old or New Testament. The next section is titled Dwelling. In this section, the reader is
invited to read back through the Scriptures at a slow pace looking for words or
phrases that speak to the heart. As part of this exercise, the reader is
encouraged to meditate and become aware of the Lord’s presence.
The Dwelling section is followed by a section
titled Free Prayer. In this section,
a wide variety of topics are introduced as themes to focus on for intercession.
The orders
of prayer that fall on Sundays include the Lord’s Prayer. The last two sections
include a prayer based on the creeds and confessions of the Reformed Church
ending with a blessing taken from Scripture.
What I
like about Seeking God’s Face: In the
corner on the left hand side of the page is a chart showing the dates as an
indicator of how the order of prayer for each day aligns with the seasons of
the Church Year. I also appreciate the use of the Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic
Confession, Canons of Dort, Westminster Confession, and Westminster Catechisms
formatted into prayers at the close of each day’s order of prayer. At the beginning of each season of the Church
Year, there is a page of introduction explaining the origin of the season and
its significance in spiritual formation.
Hour by Hour
published by Forward Movement, a non-profit agency of the Episcopal Church.
This
pocket-sized book is a simplification of the resources found in the Book of Common Prayer. It includes
hymns, psalms, and collects for the morning, noon, evening, and compline prayer
times.
What I
like about Hour by Hour: It is small
and doesn’t take up much space so works well for traveling.
Daily Light by Anne Graham Lotz, published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas
Nelson.
Daily Light is a compilation of Scripture
passages for morning and evening on every day of the year. The Scriptures in
each reading center on a certain theme. References are listed at the bottom of
each page so that you can go back to the Bible and find the passage.
What I
like about Daily Light: Its size. The
book is small and makes a nice companion to the Hour by Hour prayer book for traveling. There is also a section in
the back titled Daily Light for Life’s
Moments. This section has matched verses in the Bible with various seasons
of life, special occasions, and circumstances.
Daily Prayer for All
Seasons published by Church Publishing
Incorporated.
This book
is based on the Book of Common Prayer,
but is a shortened version. It observes eight different times of prayer
throughout the day and night instead of only four. These “hours” are a pattern
Benedictine monks created to divide the day into intervals. Instead of using
the traditional Latin names for these times of prayer, Daily Prayer for All Seasons uses a specific labor. These works of
prayer are, in order from morning to evening, Praise, Discernment, Wisdom,
Perseverance and Renewal, Love, Forgiveness, Trust, and Watch.
What I
like about Daily Prayer for All Seasons:
The order of prayers suggested for each hour is short. A person would not need
to take very much time to fit prayer into their day by using the forms in this
book. It is basic, and a good place to start for someone practicing fixed-hour
prayer for the first time.
The Divine Hours Series by Phyllis Tickle, published by Doubleday. This series includes six volumes.
They are listed below:
- Volume 1: Prayers for Summertime
- Volume 2: Prayers for Autumn and
Wintertime
- Volume 3: Prayers for Springtime
- Christmastide: Prayers for Advent
Through Epiphany
- Eastertide: Prayers for Lent
Through Easter
- The Night Offices: Prayers for the
Hours from Sunset to Sunrise
These
books provide an order of prayers to follow for Morning Prayer, midday prayer,
and vespers (late afternoon). A section for prayers to use at the end of the
day before going to sleep are organized together at the back of the book with
one for each day of the week.
Phyllis
provides a large amount of content at the beginning of each book instructing on
the history and significance of fixed-hour prayer. Taking the time to read
through this introduction will not only help the reader understand the need for
regular prayer throughout the day, but will also assure them of a place among
other brothers and sisters in Christ down through time and across the world who
are also praying these same prayers.
If you are
looking for ways to stay focused in praise of and conversation with the Lord
throughout the day, The Divine Hours
is a practical tool to help you succeed.
What I
like about The Divine Hours: The
divers use of hymns, poetry and Scripture in the form of prayer.
What I don’t
like about The Divine Hours: Diligent
use of the manual requires quite a bit of page-turning in the form of flipping
back and forth between the daily prayers, the page showing the Lord’s Prayer,
and the Compline (bedtime prayers) section. Make sure to have some book marks
on hand to help you in your prayer time if you choose The Divine Hours as a guide.
Venite
by Robert Benson, published by Abingdon Press.
This book
was given to me as a gift and is based on the Book of Common Prayer. Venite arranges canticles, collects, and
lesson a little differently from the Book
of Common Prayer. Each one has its own section, sort of like a chapter, in
the book. These canticles, collects, and lessons are organized by numbered days
sufficient for a month, rather than specific dates. Use of Venite as a prayer book requires the reader to follow from one “chapter”
to the next the readings labeled for day one, then for day two, and so on.
What I
like about Venite: Its overall
richness and poetic style because of the accessibility it gives to so many beautiful
canticles. I also appreciate the chapter on remembrances where the opportunity
is created to reflect upon the lives of saints over the course of history. This
prayer book has a nice glossary in the back that explains terms associated with
praying the daily offices and observing the Church Year.
What I don’t
like about Venite: The way this book
is organized requires much page turning and flipping between sections in order
to follow the readings suggested for each day. It takes extra time to turn
pages and search for the next place to pick up reading.
Book of Common Prayer,
published by Anglican Liturgy Press.
The Anglican Church has released a new version of the Book of Common Prayer this year. The edition I was given in Christian worship class in college was the 1928 format which used the formal King James language. This updated version retains the depth and richness of the traditional Book of Common Prayer, but is written in Standard English making it much easier to use and understand. It has a complete Psalter, the forms for morning and evening prayer, liturgy for wedding services, funerals, and ordinations, a calendar for finding holy days throughout the year, and schedules for each so that the entire Bible might get read within one year.
I trust this list provides you with a place to start enriching and deepening your experiences in prayer.
Call to Prayer