Praying The Divine Hours

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a believer in the power of daily, fixed-hour prayer, to change hearts and souls over time. I know that I am not the same person today that I was some 12 years ago, when I first started using the Daily prayer offices in the Book of Common Prayer of Morning and Evening Prayer. In those early days of trying set time aside for twice-daily prayer, I struggled with the wordiness of the Daily Office: 2-4 psalms a day, two long readings from scripture, canticles, versicles and responses. And all this in the context of prayer services designed for more than one person.

Then in 2000, I discovered The Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle, an Episcopalian and prolific author on religion. Her three volume work condensed the cycle of psalms, readings and prayers into three short services each day; morning, mid-day and vespers (or evening). The services are based on the prayer services in our Book of Common Prayer. But they are designed for individual use. The Divine Hours nourished my soul during a time of transition in my life: a period of unemployment, followed by a new job, and then the emerging call to ordained ministry.

You can buy the volumes. They're well worth it. And/or, you can now pray The Divine Hours online. When I entered seminary, with attendance at Morning Prayer required, I set aside The Divine Hours and entered into the Prayer Book's cycle of going through entire Psalter within a month and the narrative reading of scripture. There is much to be gained from such an immersion in the psalms and following the story of John's Gospel, or of Exodus, or 1st Corinthians, etc. But I also appreciate the challenges of finding the time for such an immersion. I commend The Divine Hours for individual use, and I pray that all of us may continue to be transformed by the rule of daily, fixed-hour prayer.