How to Use The Guide

First, remember that this guide is meant to be a blessing and not a burden. The point is not to simply “get through it” each day or “check the prayer box”, but to let it guide you in developing rhythms of prayer that keep your focus on God throughout the week.

Second, this guide can be used individually or with others. Those others are most naturally the people in your own household, but it’s also a great tool to use with a small group outside of your household. If you want to gather virtually with others, you’re always welcome to use the virtual church building (Zoom link on homepage). For families with children, the DPP is an ideal guide because it features consistent and straightforward elements that children can easily learn and latch onto. Depending on the age of your children, some modifications may be necessary (see below for suggestions).

Third, this is more likely to become a habit if you pick a time or times each day when you are most likely to be able to consistently engage in prayer. Natural times for most people are shortly after getting up, right before going to bed, or connected to mealtimes. Plan to set aside 5-25 minutes for each time of prayer, depending on how many of the elements you choose to use and how long you spend on them. Read on for more ideas on how to adapt different elements of the guide.

Finally, remember again that this is to be a blessing rather than a burden. Most people who have not had a habit of daily prayer are going to be able to simply jump in and start praying daily each morning and evening and never miss a prayer time. If you set a time for daily prayer and then miss a few days or even weeks, don’t be discouraged, just pick up the guide again the next time you can and jump back in.

Scripture

Each day includes a psalm of the day, a New Testament reading in one session (morning or evening) and Old Testament reading in the other.

These readings are organized on a three-year cycle that covers the entire Bible (some parts more than once).

The simplest approach is to just read the Scriptures listed for the day and not worry about the days that you miss.

Alternately, you might choose to read continuously through one book of the Bible or one New Testament and one Old Testament book. For example, if the DPP readings start out in Ezra for the Old Testament and Mark for the New Testament, you might start reading those books, and then even if you miss a few days and the DPP readings move on to other books, you could just pick up where you left off in Ezra whenever it says “Old Testament Reading” and in Mark whenever it says “New Testament Reading”

For young children, you might want to choose to only read a few verses of the Psalm (especially for longer psalms) and read Bible stories from a children’s Bible instead of the designated readings.

Prayers

There are different kinds of prayers included in the guides. Some are written out and others are more open-ended prompts for you to pray for other people, or to spend time in thanksgiving, or abiding in God’s presence. How long you spend in these open-ended periods is the biggest determining factor in how long you spend for any given session of morning or evening prayer.

For children, the repetition of simple prayers, such as the Lord’s Prayer or the Gloria (“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son…”) is one of the great features of the DPP. Even very small children can learn and repeat these prayers. Some of the other forms of prayer, such as Abiding or the Prayer of Mindfulness are better suited for older children/teens than young children and can be skipped or done very briefly (e.g. “Now let us sit silently for a few moments in God’s presence).

Song

Each edition of the DPP includes a few songs for the season that are used at points in the prayer guide. They can be sung (sheet music is included) or listened to. To listen or sing along, you can find recordings here.

In addition, the DPP provides a longer Spotify list for general listening during the season. Follow along here.