Learning a New Way to Pray: The Daily Office

By the Rev. Kristen Yates

Over the last few weeks, we have been talking about the rhythmic nature of the Christian life. Last week, we talked about the formative nature of living into the Christian Calendar.  This week, we want to explore the Daily Office. If you are new to the Anglican tradition, you may be unfamiliar with this spiritual practice, but this is a practice that has been done by Christians for many centuries that has proven to be very helpful and formative.  The Daily Office is a way to structure our days so that we incorporate a regular rhythm of prayer and Scripture engagement into our daily lives.  

 Now, if you come from a Christian tradition that emphasized daily “quiet times” with the Lord, you might initially think that the Daily Office is just another name for a quiet time, but in fact, the Daily Office is something more than that.  For while a quiet time is generally more freeform and emerges from what we feel like praying for that day and what Scriptures happen to come to mind, the Daily Office is a much more structured way of praying that incorporates a regular rhythm of Scripture reading, confession, prayers and creeds that have been prayed for centuries, and individual extemporaneous prayers.   The Daily Office also includes prayers for the morning, afternoon, evening, and before bedtime.

 While the Daily Office may sound overly restrictive and even too impersonal for some of us, it is the very structure that makes it such a rich practice.  It is through the structure that the Holy Spirit moves.

For in praying the Daily Office, we are exposed again and again to the truths of who God is and the truths of who we are - truths that we might not be able to articulate so well on our own but truths that become more and more a part of our very being and believing as we repeat them again and again and even begin to memorize them.  

 In praying the Daily Office, we are exposed to the overarching story of Jesus and the Church as we read carefully curated Scriptures each day.  This practice prevents us from just going to our go-to favorite passages and rather exposes us to a broader variety of Scripture, which then helps us have a comprehensive view of God’s redemptive plans in Jesus and of the Christian life.

In praying the Daily Office, we are led to pray not just for ourselves and our individual needs but also for the needs of the Church and the world, moving our daily prayers away from self-centeredness to God-centeredness and other-centeredness.  Our prayers become far more rich and comprehensive.

 And finally, in praying the Daily Office, we are given a beautiful means to pray communally. It works well in small and large groups, can be especially helpful for those who otherwise feel uncomfortable praying out loud or extemporaneously, and is even a communal practice when prayed alone in the comfort of one’s home for there are always countless other Christians around the country and world who are praying these same prayers.  

So consider trying the Daily Office! Next week, I’ll give you some resources and tips for praying the Daily Office. In the meantime, try this online resource: https://www.dailyoffice2019.com