Such Guides are common in monastic communities, and that makes sense. To live a life wholly devoted to God in the midst of this distracting world requires a determination that’s not only fierce, but that’s intentional and examined. Rebels need practices and habits that hold their lives in the center even when their determination falters. Why is it, though, that such Guides are common in monastic communities, but not among those of us who choose to walk with God beyond the sacred enclosure and out in the wildness of the today’s world and among it’s many opportunities and dangers?

It seems to me that such Guides are just what we need if you and I intend to live a life of prayer in the midst of this rushing stream and the surrounding wilderness that is our daily life. There is no sound of bell to call us to prayer, no form of daily prayer shared with others committed to the same path, and no regulated rhythm between work and prayer, eating and sleeping. No map. No GPS. Often no praying saint beside us to point the way. Some kind of Daily Guide—patterns and practices that help open our eyes to holiness—are necessary if we’re to see the whole world as sacred and encounter every blessed thing as gift from God.

Click here to read my Daily Guide.