I'd like to suggest the devotional on the office of daily prayer. I was browsing at one of our universities and lighted upon Seeking God's Face - Praying with the Bible through the Year. Forwarded by Eugene Peterson, written and compiled by Philip Reinders
"Seeking God's Face" hits the perfect midpoint. Philip Reinders, the editor, has done a terrific job of presenting prayer that follows the rich variety of the church year - the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter and so on - in an accessible and easy-to-use format.
Perhaps the greatest single bit of genius in the book is the little sidebars on each page giving dates to guide you through the church year until the end of 2026. You could pray this book for fifteen years without ever having to know anything more than today's date. Anyone who's ever used a prayer book will know what a boon this is!
Each day's prayer is split into seven sections: (i) Invitation - a short introductory verse; (ii) Bible Song - a section from one of the Psalms; (iii) Bible Reading - just what it says; (iv) Dwelling - an encouragement to richer engagement with the reading; (v) Free Prayer - three possible prayer themes to stimulate your own prayer; (vi) Prayer - a short prayer (see below on this); and (vii) Blessing - another brief Bible verse.
The whole book is great, but the Prayer for each day - section vi, which in liturgical tradition would be called the Collect - deserves special mention (From the Back Cover).
