The Divine Hours (Volume Two): Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime: A Manual for Prayer

C.S. Lewis once remarked that there was a general distrust, particularly by Protestants, of fixed, repetitive prayer. It was claimed they violated the scripture in Matthew 6, in which Jesus admonishes his listeners to not engage in “meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.” The fixed-prayer cycle of The Divine Hours may seem like that to the prejudiced mind. But Lewis, in the Screwtape Letters, speaks of the parrot babbles we did as a child, as if repeating a prayer is a childish thing, and the truly spiritual compose only spontaneous prayers.For me, spontaneous prayers are a disaster for a mind as prone to meander as mine. It is quite impossible for me to pray longer than twenty seconds without straying to thoughts all together unholy. Hence my need for an anchor, a corral, a hemmed in path for my mind to pray along, so as not to get lost.This trilogy is just that sort of thing. Phyllis Tickle has taken the Book of Common Prayer and laid it out so those of use who find the actually book daunting may still unitlize this excellent tool. There is a minor amount of uncertainty when first starting as to the dates, but once you start, the dates settle into a rhythm. There are four times of prayer: Morning, Mid-Day, Vespers, and Night. The prayers themselves are mostly scripture Psalms with other readings added occasionally. The Vespers prayer has a hymn or piece of poetry and the Night Office usually has writings by universally acknowledge Saints of God.I highly recommend The Divine Hours. Praying this will encourage you, guide you, deepen your relationship with God, and give you structure and peace. It is an excellent tool for those who wish to improve their prayer life but are uncertain how or where to begin. Even those who have been Christians for many years will benefit from the act of praying the scripture.

Tickle has done a great service for everyone who practices daily devotions. Along with the "Prayers for Summertime" and "Prayers for Springtime," this book provides everything one needs to pray one or all of the Daily Offices (the night prayers of Matins, Laud, and Prime are contained in her "The Night Offices").The book is broken into chapters by month, with daily Morning Prayer, Midday Prayer, and Vespers. Compline is the same from week to week within a given month, so Tickle provides the seven days of Compline readings at the back of each month. The Introduction also includes a history of the Divine Hours and some instruction in how the use the prayers. She encourages readers to chant or sing the psalms or prayers when appropriate, but affirms that silent reading, chanting, or singing is a matter of personal preferences.Each day's Offices follow the structure of the Book of Common Prayer, although the old familiar Invitatories and Responses are replaced by other varied, often less-familiar, lines from Scripture. The readings are usually biblical, but may also be from Christian sources. All-in-all, each office takes only a few minutes to read to oneself, and is varied, accessible, and enjoyable. The book, itself, is easy to use (although a built-in bookmark or two would be great), the type is easy to read, and it's not so heavy I'm going to mind packing it for a trip (although it's not a small book, by any means).I highly recommend this book and its companions for the Divine Office beginner or regular practitioner. Those new to daily prayer may also enjoy Brook's  The School of Prayer: An Introduction to the Divine Office for All Christians .

I bought this book to help get me through the cold dark winter. It was in my recommendations from Amazon but I knew nothing about what the Daily Offices were or what a Compline was. When I got the book back in October I just started doing the readings four times a day. I found that this book is so much more than I expected. I have tried different forms of devotions in my life but this is the first that I actually look forward to reading.The combination of Psalms, prayers, hymns, and other verses from the Bible helps me to center my thoughts on things that really matter throughout the day. Each reading is only a page or two long and takes maybe 10 minutes but each one has a powerful impact on my day and on my life.Although I planned to use this method of devotions just through the winter I have now added the springtime and summer versions to my wish list.

A very refreshing approach to prayer. I love the repetition of the psalms and ancient prayers. I wish the kindle version was easier to sort through.

I've tried several prayer books and intros to praying the Hours, but Tickle's books are the most accessible, especially the way dates are laid out ("Monday nearest to Nov 2nd", for example) so you don't have to follow the entire Christian calendar to be on track. The other nice feature is that there's almost no flipping between pages for various readings--everything except the Lord's Prayer and the Gloria is right there in the daily reading. If you've wanted to try praying the Hours but have been intimidated, this is your gateway.

I know some other reviewers mention it doesn't really follow the bcp, but it is still a really great collection to have in your library. The readings, morning, noon, night, and compline are short enough so that even the busies people can make time to pray.My only complaint is the language, I would have liked to have seen a more inclusive text, especially in some areas where it would have really been helpful. I think Mrs. Tickle would have a better following if the language was updated. It is this way in all 4 of her books (Divine Hours - 3 books, and then the Evening Prayers). If you are sensitive to the male dominated text of the bcp, you probably will not like this.

Brilliant book to help with 4x daily prayer times. Helps become more disciplined and thoughtful

A useful and worthwhile book, very helpful in maintaining healthy spiritual discipline.

Good book in good condition

I have been using Phyllis Tickle's Divine Hours for about two months now and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I pray three times a day with it. The morning, afternoon, and evening prayers. I don't have time to pray the compline readings at this time. Often my afternoon prayers are said more like 5pm and the evening prayers at bedtime, but for me, I try not to be too rigid with the times. I have enjoyed praying the psalms, poems, and Bible readings. I love how it follows the liturgical year. I have felt my prayer life deepen and grow using this format. Thank you Phyllis!

I l love this book in paper format but it's useless to me on my phone because after the first month, the days aren't named. Am I doing Sunday's reading? Tuesday? I'm so confused. I'll be returning it if I can figure out how.