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. ( )

A useful tool for practicing the discipline of the divine hours/divine office/praying the hours.

The author uses an eclectic model for providing the substance for the suggested prayers, and on the whole it is suitable for those of us who are not as comfortable with many of the ritual and doctrinal aspects of the Catholic/Orthodox/Anglican traditions. There are three offices per day-- morning, afternoon, and vespers-- along with a compline for bedtime, provided at the end of each month. Most of the readings feature Scripture although some apocryphal and later Christian authors are also used.

One must be on guard for references to intercession of saints, observance of Sunday as the Sabbath, inappropriate conceptualizations of worship, and a few other hazards. Nevertheless, as a devotional tool, the work is quite beneficial. ( )

Only useful if you are using it for personal devotions. All pronouns refer to 1st person, never community. There are a number of incorrect references to scripture, not surprising because there must be thousands of Psalm texts quoted. ( )

This is a bit unwieldy if you want to take it places, but otherwise an excellent resource for daily prayer within the Christian Tradition. ( )

The edition of The Divine Hours edited by Phyllis Tickle has become my prayer book. Ms. Tickle makes praying the hours so simple and approachable. For someone wanting to try praying "set prayers" at set times, this book is a great start. ( )