Your Daily Office at Christ the King

The Daily Office is a pattern of prayer throughout the day — which can be done in the morning, at mid-day, and at evening time — It combines Scripture, Psalms, and prayer in a rhythm Christians have practiced for centuries.

... have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen.

General Confession

What Is a Daily Office?

The Daily Office is rooted in the ancient practice of setting apart specific times of the day for intentional prayer and meditation in God's word. It is a time for communion with God by saying "yes Lord," and "speak Lord, for your servant is listening." It is a changing of our hearts and minds, a surrendering of our will. It is part of a daily "discipline" we do to put ourselves in God's presence, and the offering of ourselves to God throughout the day. The odd name, Daily Office, comes from the Latin officium divinum, which means “divine duty.” The Daily Office may be one of the most important practices for your spiritual formation!

The Daily Office Includes:

The Daily Office has four major parts: Heart preparation through Confession, a time of Praise by reading ( or listening to) select Psalms, hearing God speak through Lessons from His Word, and speaking to God in Prayer. The Daily Office can expand to much more, but focusing on these core components will help you to get started. Build on your success!

Getting Started with your Daily Office

Preparation

The Daily Office bears the most fruit when it is practiced with intention and care. Taking time to prepare your heart, body, and space can help. Before you begin, consider these basic guidelines.

1. Location Matters – Choose a quiet, private place where you can pray without interruption. A dedicated space helps you be present—free to pray aloud, express emotion, and kneel if you wish. What matters most is creating room to attend to God.

2. Time – A regular time is essential for a fruitful Daily Office practice. Mornings are often ideal, but the best time is the one you can keep.

The prayer book has options for quick devotions at morning, noon, and evening which can be done in 5 minutes.

For the full Daily Office, begin with 20–30 minutes. Over time, you may add more time or additional prayer elements. The Book of Common Prayer provides prayers for morning, midday, evening, and bedtime—but don’t feel overwhelmed. Start where you are. Consistency matters more than length. The goal is a steady devotional rhythm, not perfection.

3. Tools – While the structure of the Daily Office remains the same, the Scripture readings change daily. Many people find it helpful to use a free Daily Office app, which guides you through the prayers and provides the appointed readings. We recommend starting with the 60-day Psalm cycle and the two-year Scripture cycle, which offer a gentle, sustainable pace.

Recommended Apps

www.rethinkme.com/dailyprayer
Download app to your iPhone or android. Then simply swipe to the left.
Simple, clear, modern language aligned with our Sunday worship. It provides a briefer format.

www.bookofcommonprayer.net
Go to Daily Offices → then Today’s Office
Clear, modern language aligned with our Sunday worship. Contains all the elements.
www.dailyoffice2019.com
Select the time of day. Includes integrated audio. Some language differences. Contains all the elements.

Listening to Scripture

Listening to Scripture—especially the daily Psalms and Lessons—can help us slow down and be more attentive.

www.biblegateway.com
Choose a passage, select your translation, and click the listen icon.

Worship Music

Music can help our hearts and minds to connect with God, so you may want to include worship music in your prayer time. We have included some select songs with each daily office section. Pick your favorite song and see if it adds to your devotional time with God. There is a full playlist of CTK worship music at the bottom of the page.

Let’s get Started!

1. Confession - Preparing our hearts

The Daily Office begins with confession.

"And so that we may prepare ourselves in heart and mind to worship him, let us kneel in silence, and with penitent and obedient hearts confess our sins, that we may obtain forgiveness by his infinite goodness and mercy. "

Take time to slowly pray through the general confession (below). Make it personal and specific - name the sin that comes to your mind to God.

" Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen."

As we say the word repent - consider the ways in your life you can actively turn away from what does not honor God, and turn towards Him. Meditate here in stillness.

As we rest in the promise of God's forgiveness consider the words from I John 1:9 ...
" If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

If you have time, worship God for His grace and mercy. Listening to a song before or after your time of confession helps your mind and heart to meet with God. Here are several suggestions:

2. Praise - Focusing our heart

Confession makes us ready to offer praises to God. We let the words of the Psalms speak forth God's praises and show us His character.

"Come let us sing to the Lord; let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and raise a loud shout to him with psalms." Psalm 95:1

Read the specific Psalms appointed for that day. If you are using one of the daily office apps (mentioned above) the Psalms readings for the day will be directly available.

Take a moment to reflect on what you read. What does it reveal about the nature and character of God? What does it tell us about who we are?

If you have time, worship God for who He is with songs of praise. Here are several suggestions:

3. Lessons - Training our hearts

Now comes the time to still your heart and listen for God’s voice.

The purpose of the Daily Office lessons is to ground our prayer and thought life in who God is, as revealed through the whole sweep of Scripture—not personal preference or favorite passages. By systematically reading (or listening to) the Bible, we encounter the whole counsel of God, including texts that are difficult, unfamiliar, or often overlooked. Together, they tell the unified story of God’s redemptive work in the world.

The Daily Office apps will provide the appointed readings for each day. Morning Prayer includes lessons from the Old and New Testaments. The Gospel reading is a part of the Evening Prayer liturgy.

A Note on the Apocrypha
In the Anglican tradition, readings from the Apocrypha—Jewish writings from the period between the Old and New Testaments—are sometimes included in the Daily Office. While not considered inspired Holy Scripture or used to establish doctrine, these writings are received as spiritually beneficial. Modern prayer books, including the BCP 2019, allow an alternate Old Testament reading for those who prefer not to use the Apocrypha.

If time allows, respond in worship—praising God for who he is and for what he has spoken. A hymn or song can help your heart receive the Word with gratitude. Here are a few suggestions:

4. Prayer - Sharing our hearts

The Lord’s Prayer
We pray the Lord’s Prayer because it shapes and aligns our words, thoughts, and desires with God’s will.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.

The Four Movements of Prayer
This model prayer naturally unfolds in four movements:
• Alignment with God’s Name, Kingdom, and Will
• Prayer for our needs and our relationships
• Petition for deliverance from evil
• Renewed alignment with God’s purposes for us and the world

As you pray, allow these movements to shape your own words and bring your heart into alignment with God, lifting up your daily needs and relationships, asking for deliverance in areas of struggle, and recommitting yourself to his eternal priorities.

Concluding the Daily Office

Before finishing, take a moment to reflect quietly on your time with God. You may end with silence, a hymn or song, and a renewed resolve to:
“Delight in His will, and walk in His ways, to the glory of His Name.”

If time allows, respond in worship—praising God for who he is.

More ... Start simple, add details as you desire

Start your Daily Office journey with the four core elements - Confession, Praise (Psalms), Lessons (Old Testament, New Testament), and Prayer (the Lord's prayer and the prayer of General Thanksgiving). Here are some additional elements to consider as you have time.

1. More Elements – You can see that the Daily Office apps also include additional liturgical parts like: Venite, Jubilate, The Apostles’ Creed, Suffrages, Collects, Prayer of St. Chrysostom, etc. Add these elements as interested and time permits.

2. Additional Times – Being regular and routine in your Daily Office is the most important factor. The full Daily Office is a set of four daily prayer times defined in the Book of Common Prayer. Morning and Evening Prayer times are the primary services, with shorter services for Mid-day Prayer and before bed. Add these elements as interested and time permits.

3. Reference Materials – You can examine the full details of the Daily Office in the actual Book of Common Prayer, click here. Check the table of contents to find your way around this resource. The full Daily Office liturgies begin on pages 11.

Tools: Be sure you take some time to configure the Daily Office and Bible reading apps to your specific preferences. Here are suggested settings for bookofcommonprayer.net, dailyoffice2019.com, www.biblegateway.com.

4. Key Terms

Confession, Repentance: These are two sides of the same coin. They are something we do. The word ‘confess’ means to agree with God about your sin. The word ‘repent’ means to renounce sin, to feel a sense of remorse, to change from relying on our own solutions, to turn away from sin, and pledge to live anew under God’s direction and power.

Forgiveness: Forgiveness is something God does in response to the atoning work of Christ. God promises to forgives us. We do not earn forgiveness. It is a gift of God’s love, mercy, and grace. But we may not experience forgiveness until we confess, repent, and forgive those who have harmed us.

Psalms and Lessons: This is a time for listening or reading prescribed Bible passages, to reflect on the text, to respond and surrender to God’s prompts. It is not intended to be time of “bible study” but rather a time to prayerfully meditate upon the passage, seeking the Spirit’s guidance. Anglicans call this Lectio Divina (Latin for Divine Reading). It involves a slow, contemplative reading of Scripture, allowing for a profound encounter with God through his Word. It emphasizes listening to God’s voice, which speaks personally and intimately to us through Scripture. See this helpful link for more information on Lectio Divina.

Lord’s Prayer: This helps guide our prayer time. One common practice involves prayerfully meditating on each of the prayer’s petitions. For example, you might begin the prayer by meditating on what it means to call God your Father, and pray for greater recognition of your adoption in Christ. Or you might find value in praying for those whom you have a hard time forgiving in light of the forgiveness of your own sins. And so on, each petition could serve as a meditation. Try not to rush through this prayer, let it be your guide.

Suffages: The suffrages lead us to pray and petition for the world, the church, and those in need. It helps us see the world of need beyond ourselves.

Collects: Collects are brief prayers that help us focus our intentions and desires into a guided common prayer request. Generally, each day there is the one collect for that week of the church year (the one used in the previous Sunday’s church service), then a collect for that day, and then one collect for mission.

Thanksgiving: The General (i.e. comprehensive) Thanksgiving prayer is one of the riches of our Anglican tradition. It is a recap of our time spent in the Daily Office practice. It opens with humility. It praises God for being our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer. The next section sums up our best and rightful petitions we make to God. It concludes with the reminder we a a part of God’s eternal plan and family.

5. CTK Worship Music