The School of Prayer: The Daily Office

A daily rhythm of prayer that connects with our Wesleyan/Anglican roots and with millions of Christians around the world

Human beings are ritualistic creatures. We all have routines and rituals that we live out daily, be it the time and method we brush our teeth, the way we like our coffee, or the route we take to work. If you were to take a peek under the hood of one of your typical weeks, you’d discover that there are things you do habitually that you don’t even think about. Call it a psychological muscle memory, if you will.

Or you might call it a product of our creation as human beings made in the image of God. From the very beginning of Genesis, the Creator God began setting particular rhythms for life, from the rising and setting of the sun to the seasons of the year. These natural occurrences happen with a regularity that sets the rhythm of our lives each day, month, and year. But God also established the seventh day as a Sabbath, a specific habitual rhythm designed to provide rest and reflection for the humans he created. Our spiritual lives, as well as our physical lives, are thus made to be lived out in rhythms and rituals.

As the Old Testament transitions from Genesis to Exodus, God provided the people of Israel with a particular set of rituals and rhythms that would mark them as a people, including prescribed times of the day for prayer. In Exodus 29:38-39, God commanded the priests of Israel to offer animal sacrifices in the morning and evening. Eventually, those morning and evening hours of sacrifice began to include readings from the Scriptures, along with psalms, prayers, and hymns. By the time of Jesus, the Jewish ritual for these daily acts of worship, reading, and prayer coincided with the Roman rhythm of ringing bells at the 6:00am, 9:00am, Noon, 3:00pm, and 6:00pm. The early church, consisting at first mostly of Jews, picked up this same rhythm for their own daily prayer life. The Book of Acts tells us, for example, that “day by day..they spent much time together in the temple” (Acts 2:46). They were a people of prayer.

By the second and third centuries, the early church fathers were promoting the practice of daily prayer as Christianity spread across the Empire, with monastic communities becoming the center of church life. In the sixth century, St. Benedict of Nursia established his “little rule for beginners” that established a rhythm of work and prayer for the monks at Monte Cassino in Italy. When Pope Gregory discovered what is now known as “The Rule of St. Benedict,” he adopted it for the whole Roman Catholic Church. These established hours of prayer at the abbeys and local churches continued throughout the Middle Ages.

As the Protestant Reformation emerged in the 16th century, Thomas Cranmer adapted a condensed version St. Benedict’s Rule consisting of Morning and Evening Prayer for the newly formed Church of England and its prayer book, The Book of Common Prayer. Known as “The Daily Office,” it became the standard rule of daily prayer for the Anglican communion and, consequently, it was also the rhythm of prayer adopted by John and Charles Wesley, Anglican priests who would launch the Methodist movement in the 18th century. John Wesley would send an adapted version of The Daily Office and The Book of Common Prayer, titled “The Sunday Service of the Methodists” to be used by American Methodists as their standard for worship and daily prayer as well.

I discovered The Daily Office during a course I took during my doctoral work at Asbury Theological Seminary. As part of the course, we spent time with the monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, who follow the Rule of St. Benedict and gather for prayer seven times a day, beginning at 3:15am and ending at 7:30pm. Each gathering consists of confession, Scripture, praying and chanting the Psalms, intercession, and praise. I was fascinated by this rhythm and discovered that praying The Daily Office even twice a day was an antidote to my often scattered and distracted prayer life. Here was a method, a rhythm, a ritual that fed my soul without distraction and that kept me focused on hearing the Word of God.

I still practice The Daily Office, with Morning and Evening Prayer being my rhythm. The short service takes about 15 minutes and can be done individually, with another person, or in a group. The rhythm looks like this:

Prayer of Confession - I begin and end the day by confessing any sin to God, knowing that we can be made new by God’s grace.

Invitation to Praise - The Invitatory raises our attention to the holiness of God who deserves our thanks and praise.

The Psalter - Each morning and evening there are prescribed readings from the Psalms. Reading 2-3 Psalms in the morning and evening means that you will pray through all 150 Psalms every 30 days. When I don’t know what to pray, the Psalms often speak for me. They were the prayer book for Jesus, after all!

Scripture Lessons - I then read a chapter from the Old Testament and the New Testament, listening for the word God has for me. The Book of Common Prayer has a lectionary that, if you follow it daily, will have you reading through the whole Bible in a year.

The Apostle’s Creed - Along with Christians around the world, I affirm once again my faith in God: Father, Son, and Spirit.

The Lord’s Prayer - This is a model for personalizing my prayers (see my last post on how to make the Lord’s Prayer a framework for your own prayers).

The Intercession - I take time to pray for those whom God has laid on my heart, or those on our church prayer list.

The Collect for Grace - This “collective” prayer is written in the first person plural, which lets me know that I am praying it along with thousands of others around the world who are also praying The Daily Office. It’s an amazing thing to know that you are in a concert of prayer even if you’re by yourself in your own home.

The Benediction - This closing verse sets the tone for the day at Morning Prayer or acts as the last word I hear before going to bed after Evening Prayer.

It’s really that simple, but I can tell you that once this ritual becomes part of your life it will deepen your relationship with God. I’ve tried all kinds of ways of establishing a rhythm of prayer but this is the one that sticks for me.

I’d like to give you an opportunity to try out The Daily Office. We have ordered copies of The Field Guide for Daily Prayer that are now available at the Church. This little booklet version of The Daily Office can fit in your bag or purse and can go with you anywhere. They’re available for just $3.00 at the Welcome Desk in the lobby.

There are also online and app versions of The Daily Office if you prefer to use your phone or computer. One is the “My Daily Office” app, which refreshes every morning and evening (and for a small annual fee you can also have the daily Scriptures uploaded for you as well). A free online version of The Daily Office is also available from the Anglican Church North America.

Of course, this is just one way to establish a rhythm of prayer, but I like the fact that it’s a method with a long history and one that connects us with other Christians around the world. I also like knowing that it’s part of our Wesleyan DNA and that it’s designed to help us become people of prayer individually and collectively. I invite you to give it a try and make it one of your new rituals!