On-Line Daily Devotionals

What a wonderful resource we have in the internet, particularly when it comes to daily devotionals. Here are some of my favorites:

http://www.annarborvineyard.org/tdh/tdh.cfm
The Divine Hours
edited by Phyllis Tickle, and hosted by the Ann Arbor Vineyard Church.

The Divine Hours is a form of prayer at specific times, to be used by individuals or groups. It includes morning, midday, vespers (evening) and compline (before retiring) offices, rooted in the biblical tradition and adapted in the Book of Common Prayer. This site automatically updates the prayers according to information you give it about your particular time zone.

More than any other devotional tool, the divine hours links me not only with a wealth of scripture but with all Christians who have sought the Lord, now and throughout the centuries. To me there is something very powerful about praying in community, across space and time and denominational barriers. I also appreciate the opportunity to order my life according to a rhythm that is eternal. Much like the Church Year teaches us to follow a different calendar than the one given by the world, so the Divine Hours teaches us to follow a different clock, setting our souls by the Word. It's a foretaste of heaven, and so has become the site I most often visist.

http://ivpress.gospelcom.net/bible/
The IVP Quiet Time Bible Studies

This is probably the most traditional of the the three devotional sites I frequent, providing brief but engaging Bible study in the IV tradition. The focus here is mainly on scripture study and application: a more right-brained approach which requires a discipline which many postmoderns tend to avoid.

http://www.sacredspace.ie/
Sacred Space,
the online prayer site of the Irish Jesuits.

This is probably the most experiential of the sites. Its on-line presentation is deliberately designed to compel the reader to slow down and meditate, by requiring a lot of scrolling. The Introduction page reinforces the idea that the purpose of this site is not amassing information but encountering God by moving through six moments of prayer:

"Although they are written in the first person -- "I" -- the prayers are for doing, rather than for reading out. Each stage is a kind of exercise or meditation aimed at helping you get in touch with God, and God's presence in your life.At any of the stages, click on 'Prayer Guide' for explanation, guidance and other helps to prayer, from modern Jesuit writers.

The site is organized into the following stages which involve preparing both your body and mind, and culminating in reflection on a scripture passage chosen specially for the day:

1. The Presence of God
2. Freedom
3. Consciousness
4. The Word
5. Conversation
6. Conclusion

This site might be a little too experiential for some Evangelicals, but seems to have great appeal for Emergents.

So, what do you think of these sites? Are there others that you prefer? Or do you think the whole idea of praying at one's computer is a bit spiritually "loose?" Let me know what you think.