I came into The Episcopal Church with the 1979 BCP already in wide use. It remains controversial amongst the Continuing Anglican Movement, and some conservatives are attempting to make the 1662 BCP the sort of “gold standard,” but I don’t think that will hold (not least since there were several prayer books before that, why not go back to “the original?”)
Anyway, having been raised Pentecostal and having “lead worship” in the mainstream of Evangelicalsim, I became burnt out on emotion and spirituality. The 1979 BCP has been the document which has slowly but surely rehabilitated me and my relationship with God.
I find the prayers to be communicate exactly what I feel. For instance the prayer of repentance asks forgiveness for those sins which we committed by leaving things undone, rather than focus only on sins of commission. Or check out the powerful prayer for the Unity of the Church. I have found the book to continue to pour out solid theology and thoughtful prayers.

I grew up Baptist, very non-liturgical, so when I wanted to start praying the daily office I wanted something accessible. In the end I found The Missio Dei Breviary http://thebreviary.com/ to be a fantastic place to start out with the office.

Having grown up in a pentecostal church and now a United Methodist minister, I have found the BCP to be a great resource for spiritual life. When something has to be said in tact and grace, even the pentecostal service books quote the BCP. Why reinvent the wheel?

Without question, The Valley of Vision hits a home run for me.
One of the most penetrating prayers, which I have retitled The Exceeding Wonders of Grace, stuns me every time.

Right now The Divine Hours resonates well with me (us). In fact, at the church we approach it as a group for Wednesday evening prayer (some individual reading, some community reading, some inserted silences and spontaneous prayer).
And since we are a *non-liturgical* group, week-to-week I fashion our own liturgy starting with the psalms and prayers offered in The Divine Hours. It is still a quasi-experiment thing, but leaning on Psalms seems to be more inviting to the *non-liturgicals* than creeds and prayers . . . and I am probably inclined to agree more often than not (we also use the Prayer for the Week at the end of the service – and something called Jesus Creed at the beginning).

As a life long Anglican, I fondly remember the 1962 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and the introduction of the Book of Alternative Services (BAS). The most striking difference is the language. BCP uses an “older” form of English (i.e. thou art the Lord) and BAS uses comtemporary English (i.e. you are the Lord). Aside from that the difference is subtle.
BAS is revisionist, leaving the reader with the distinct impression of God having an unconditional love. A sort of a God loves you no matter what sins you do, and continue to do.
BCP however is far more sound theologically. It places far greater emphasis on the need for us to reconcile ourselves to God. The underlying message is that God loves us so much he died for us on the cross so that we may have a way to be saved from our sins. But it is us who must make the decision to give up our sinful ways and come back to God.
These are important differences. As I said earlier, these differences are subtle. They are most obvious in the Prayers of Confession. Additionally, BCP includes the 39 Articles of Religion and the Solemn Declaration of 1893, but BAS does not. This is a clear indication that BAS is a deliberate departure from historic and Biblically basec Anglicanism.
BAS was “sold” to the Anglican Church as an alternative (as the name implies) to BCP with contemporaty language, and that it would make it easier for younger people and new members to participate. In fact BAS has been forced upon us by revisionists as a replacement of BCP. BAS has facilited the changes within Anglicanism to move toward secular society (and its sinful desires). Unfortunately, such a move also meant moving away from God.

I grew up in the Church of Christ–no prayer books there either, officially. But unofficially, I’ve used Kenneth Boa’s “Face to Face” books in my private devotions for years. Never get tired of them. All prayers are straight from scripture and are followed with short suggestions for spontaneous prayers.

“BAS is revisionist, leaving the reader with the distinct impression of God having an unconditional love. A sort of a God loves you no matter what sins you do, and continue to do.”
Oh, my. How terrible. We can’t have that.

I myself prefer the BCP to our ELCA daily liturgies (which tend to be treated like the forgotten stepchildren of our worship resources). I like using the online version at http://www.missionstclare.com. I also enjoy the Oremus website, http://www.oremus.org.

Hello Travis
I think you missed my point. Anglicanism is about helping people come back to God, and that means us changing and stopping the sins that we do. That was clear in the BCP. However, BAS is part of the revisionist agenda of changing Anglicanism into a church (lower case deliberate) of a secular society that changes God so that we can feel good about whatever we do, no matter how wrong it is.

I grew up and continue in the Christian Reformed Church. During my time in graduate school and now in ministry I have enjoyed “Our World Belongs to God: A Contemporary Testimony,” which affirms in the deepest sense that Jesus is Lord of All Things.
During a period of struggle between the broad array of spiritual disciplines, my mentor presented the Celtic Book of Daily Prayer, assembled by the Northumbria Community. Celtic spirituality as presented here really appeals to me in, for lack of a better term, its “earthy groundedness” that constantly reminds that this endeavor of Christianity is much bigger and older than me. Anyone who finds Wendell Berry helpful to their spiritual life will likely find Celtic prayer helpful.
One point I have noticed of late though, is that the forgiveness for sin is not as pointed as some might prefer or need. It is there, but is hidden in the confession.
Peace,
Randy Gabrielse

I love John Baillie’s: A Diary of Private Prayer. I also enjoy Phyllis Tickle’s: The Divine Hours-A Pocket Guide. I grew up with no liturgy and was taught that “canned prayers” were useless babbling. (Funny thing though, I’ve heard a lot more babbling in spontaneous prayers that were long but not deep!) I think there is room for both types of prayer. Thank God I have been exposed to books of common prayer through this website and Scot’s: Praying With the Church book. I now have a great appreciation for those things that I missed.

I’ve been helped in prayer by using David Adam’s “The Rhythm of Life.” I also give a hearty amen to the BCP and Tickle’s “Divine Hours” (the pocket edition is less cumbersome.)

Concordia Publishing House (CPH) put out an excellent resource called the “Treasury of Daily Prayer” late 2008 that is probably the best thing a Lutheran publisher has put to paper in the last century. It includes a daily lectionary of readings, patristic and various quotes on the theme of the day along with prayers. Included is also various forms of worship (matins, vespers, etc.) along with our catechism. A great resource not only for us Lutherans as it has a very catholic feel that spans the ages.

Thanks to all of the posters for the suggestions. As an evangelical who has never used a prayer book, I’m going to check some of this out.

I have been interested to prayer books for the past few years but did not come from a church background that used them. I first was introduced to this in the book by The Upper Room, A guide to Prayer for Ministers & Other Servants, and then came across Phylis Tickle’s books. I became more interested by reading Scot’s book, Praying with the Church, and Arthur Paul Boers book, The Rhythm of God’s Grace.
I find it rewarding to say and hear prayers from across the centuries as well as to pray through the Psalms.
I have also found podcasts of prayers from a couple of different traditions that I use on a daily basis. One is from the BCP and the other is using the Liturgy of the Hours. I find these resources to be enriching as one sits back and listens.
The Divine Office: http://divineoffice.org/
BCP: http://www.episcopalchurchingarrettcounty.org/churchonthewebpage.htm