As we enter into the series of Spiritual Rhythms, we want to share a new devotional tool called the “Daily Office”.
The goal of the Daily Office, as with a “quiet time,” is to pay attention to God throughout the entire day while I am active. This is the great challenge for all of us. Both the enormous pressure of the world and our own stubborn self-wills make it easy to live most of our waking hours without any consistent awareness of God’s presence.
The word Office comes from the Latin word, opus, or “work”. For the early church, the Daily Office was always the “work of God.” Nothing was to interfere with that priority.
The Daily Office normally takes place at least twice a day, and is not so much a turning to God to gets something; it is about being with God, about communion with him.
You choose the length of time for your offices. The key, remember, is the regular remembrance of God, not the length of time. Your pausing to be with God can last anywhere from 2 minutes to 20 minutes to 45 minutes.
We will be emailing you 1 devotional each day (Monday through Friday) that you can use during your time with God.
Each devotional will have the following elements:
1. Silence, Stillness, and Centering
This is the essence of a Daily Office. We stop our activity and pause to be with the Living God. Scripture commands us: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10a). We move into God’s presence and rest there; that alone is no small feat. Each Office begins and ends with 2 minutes of silence. Give yourself lots of grace here, studies suggest that the average person or group can only bear 15 seconds of silence.
2. Scripture
The important thing to remember here is “less is more.” Read slowly – aloud if possible – chewing on different words or phrases. Be attentive in your heart to what God is doing inside of you. There is no need to finish all that is provided for each Office! Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you.
3. Devotional Reading
The purpose of these devotionals is to stretch you in your Journey. These devotionals are meant to be read slowly and prayerfully. There are times the devotionals will speak powerfully to where you are. Again, remember – the purpose of the Daily Office is to commune with God, not get through all that is written!
4. Questions to Consider
Each devotion ends with a question to consider. You may find it helpful to write your answers to God down in a journal or notebook.
5. Prayer
You may want to pray the words as written or perhaps take only the direction of the written prayer and pray your own words.
So watch your inbox for your Daily Office as we all get into a new Spiritual Rhythm.
Brent
