With Confession and Forgiveness
Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
Psalm42:7–8
When we’ve run out ofwords—whether because of sorrow or happiness—God gives us his own words, because God’s word interprets us, our lives, our worries, and our joys. “The Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Rom 8:26). And so, since ancient times, Christian worship has been defined as receiving God’s word and speaking God’s word back to him. This order and logic undergirds the Daily Office: the twin services of Morning and Evening Prayer (also called Matins and Vespers).
This Order of Prayer is a simplified version of the Daily Office. The English version of the Daily Office is mediated through the Book of Common Prayer. The