Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day: A 40-Day Journey with the Daily Office

by Peter Scazzero

Based on his bestselling book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, this 40-day devotional by Peter Scazzero is your guide to more intentional, meaningful, life-changing communion with God. We all struggle to find daily time to be with God for the nourishment of our souls. This groundbreaking devotional is your key to resting fully in the awareness of his presence, increasing your self-knowledge, and growing deeper, closer to God. Each day, Peter Scazzero invites you to the ancient and yet powerful spiritual discipline of the Daily Office, the practice of pausing morning and evening to reflect on God's work in your life. In the midst of the hustle, we have to create interludes to re-center our hearts on the presence of God. For eight weeks, each morning and evening devotional will help you create that much-needed space for silence and reflection. You will be encouraged with thoughtful readings and questions to consider. And after each a closing prayer, you'll return to your day with a renewed sense of purpose and peace. This devotional is drawn from the bestselling book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality and can be read as a companion book or enjoyed on its own. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day will anchor your life on the invitation to love God with all your heart, mind, and strength. In this guided journey, you'll discover the spiritual nourishment, joy, and peace that comes from meeting with God every day. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day is also available in Spanish, Espiritualidad emocionalmente sana Día a día .

Genres: Christian, Devotional, Spirituality, Faith, Christianity, Nonfiction, Theology

208 pages, Paperback

First published July 8, 2014

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a refreshing 40 day devotional that walks you through scripture and themes that are often missed. Grief, pain, emotional maturity, character, spiritual formation, vocation.
With excerpts from desert fathers, monks, biblical scholars, poets and more.
The bi-daily format was great for most days - in that it helped me pause 2x. On other days I only had time for 1. Even if I missed a day, there's only 5 days in the week so you can spread it over more days if you missed.
I loved the format of each office: 2 min. of silence, scripture, devotional, reflection question, prayer, 2 min. of silence. This format helped me slow down and absorb the scripture and theme more deeply.

I highly recommend this book to new or seasoned Christ followers who want to create a better spiritual spiritual practice of prayer, scripture and reflection. Even seekers will find the rhythm helpful and the topics relevant.

[Conrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic devotional. If you are either looking for a new devotional or have been a fan of Scazzero’s work, this is for you! Recommend and want to read again in future.

Just read for second time. One of my favorite devotionals 🙏🏼

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sister and I read through this at the same time sharing insights. While it is a 40-day journey we decided to make an 80 day one by only doing one devotion a day. I truly appreciated the 2 minutes of silence before and after the selections and tried to use the quiet to forget about ME and think on God. It was extremely effective for me. One day I noticed I did not get as much out of the devotional and later that day I realized I had forgotten the 2 minutes of silence in my hurry to get to work. Highly recommended devotional.

[Anita Hung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helped lead me in prayer and a daily rhythm of tuning into God and slowing down to hear Him. It helped draw me closer to Him in a season of connecting back to Him. God spoke through the devotionals to me even when I missed days of reading, and when I was persistent He spoke. Overall, good devotional book for those who are seeking to grow deeper in their relationship with God in a more intimate lifestyle with Him.

[Regan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better late than never

[Grant Baker · Rating 1 out of 5]

Billed as a devotional, this book reads more like an advertisement for Scazzero’s book. The Bible reading seems tacked on to an already complete outline of a completed set of ideas.

This is perhaps best exemplified through Week 6, titled Discover the Rhythms of the Daily Office and Sabbath. The command for Sabbath comes up only in the very last “office” and Scazzero turns it into an opportunity for free time and vacation. While vacation is good, it is not Sabbath rest. The section title also reveals that the author has at once devalued the meaning of Sabbath (shown above) but also elevated the Daily Office to be a “mini-Sabbath.” No where in Scripture are the people of God commanded to a daily office, so it is concerning to see it equated with the Sabbath.

Instead of this book, I would suggest The Valley of Vision.

[Matt Reser · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.9 stars. This was not a 40-day journey, but it was still great. The idea of what I'll call devotional time as an office and not as quiet time was much needed for me. The quiet time view of "devotional time" makes us into cars. We occasionally fill up our tanks with scripture and then go out living however we like. The office is a time where we intentionally stop and rest to tune our entire being to God and then walk back into the world hand and hand with him. This is a great way to bring 1 Thes. 5:17 into our lives. I would highly recommend this to anyone who thirsts for the presence of God in the day-to-day.

[Hannah Nieweglowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING! I highly recommend to any who wants to dive in to learning more about their faith as well as their emotional health. Peter Scazzero does an amazing job giving you a passage to read morning and night as well as a question with each to answer and apply to your needs. I will definitely be rereading this book!

[Ezequiel Quinones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it

A great to start a new discipline, being with God. I especially love the format he uses. It’s great I’m moving on to his other daily office book after this one.

[Joseph Bianchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

this one goes out to Brianna

[Brennen Schmitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

as far as devotionals go, this is probably the best i’ve worked through. Idk if it’s the rigidity of a template or the balance of commentary vs scripture, but devos are often hard for me. I much prefer the scriptures alone for my personal reflections. yet, Pete is a gift and this work he’s provided is simple and profound.

[Brandon Howlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read devotional.

[Emanuel Ubierna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno de mis devocionales favoritos sin duda. lo único que me encantaría es que tenga 6 días en lugar de 5 días por semana.

[Jake Steen · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was sooo rich. Pete's my actual guy!!!!

[Maria Dunlap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource. I'd recommend reading this as a companion to Pete's first book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. Reading these two will be more effective with a small group discussion.

[jenny! · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this read because it made me stop twice a day. I think the silence and solitude portion has really shown me how much of a struggle it is for me to be silent in the presence of God and I am grateful for that.

On another note, reading this alongside the book was extremely receptive. Some parts of the book are just copied and pasted into the devotional, so it's not as impactful as it could be if this offered something extra. Still worth it though!

[Gail]

Nice devotional, short passages but good thoughts with a focus on developing one's own spirituality, especially the practice of silence and stillness before God. Not easy. The book takes the reader to past pain in life but also aids in the development of current healthy rhythms, with the end goal being to better learn how to pay attention to God at all times in one's life.

[Scott Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Biblical and thought provoking devotional!

Each devotion has a time of silence before and after built around a Bible passage and devotion related to the big idea of the passage.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Companion devotional to the 8 week Emotionally Healthy Spirituality course. It was life-changing for me because it forced me to stop at least twice a day (outside of quiet time) and be with God. No more working straight through lunch and doing violence to my soul. To my amazement, this new habit of pausing throughout the otherwise usually frenzied and hurried day seems to be pacing me with the margin for more kindness and connection with the people around me. Surprisingly, there have been a lot more moments of noticing the unspoken cry of the heart and what broken individuals truly long to communicate, instead of inhumanely rushing through a conversation to get to the next item on my agenda. I am now convinced that consistently paying attention to what is important to others is a higher, richer and more mature way to live. What I think is more pressing can sometimes wait. It takes a lot of trust in God to let Him unfold your schedule and life than rushing around constantly and letting the bombardment of music, news, sports, endless emails and social media suffocate the in-between moments. In the end, I find myself more centered while I embrace my limitations. Only took me 6 MONTHS to finish this book as I am still trying to develop this most difficult discipline and rhythm of counter-cultural rest. This is a godlier way of doing mindfulness and resiliency training. Looking forward to starting the Emotionally Healthy Relationships devotional next.

[D.J. Lang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this Daily Office Journey devotional book every month since March of 2021 along with Scazzero's Emotionally Healthy Relationships Day by Day (and I'll continue to do so). After reading it and praying the "daily office" 4 times now, I still recommend the book. I kept brief notes in the margins on what the Holy Spirit is saying to me on that particular day through the scripture verse, commentary, reading, and/or prayer. Scazzero, through the two books, has also multiplied the number of books I have bought and read (or going to read)...lol...via his sources used.

I have to comment on how much I love how Scazzero does his notes. They are indexed by weekly headings; however, the numbers do not start over each new chapter. So, the Introduction had notes 1-4 and Week One had notes 5-14; Week Eight had 78-89. I wish all authors did their notes this way.

Eight weeks for a 40 day journey so this could be used during Lent if one desired to do so. Possibly I used it that way the first time, but since then I have used it primarily one reading in the morning either from both books or alternating.

If this sounds like my review of Emotionally Healthy Relationships, that's because I copied and pasted. The books are set up the same but have different content. Both are worth reading / using.

[Megan Byrd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 40-day daily office journey (twice a day devotional) broken into 8 weeks each discussing a different part of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. I also watched corresponding videos each week. There is also a book that goes more in depth with each weekly topic which I read a year and a half ago.

The most challenging part of the book was the two minutes for silence, stillness, and centering at the beginning and end of each devotional. I have not trained myself for such work and it goes against my drive for productivity. Often it was a nice breather and a reminder that the world will continue even if I make time to rest and be still. The questions in the devotional were often very thought provoking, causing me to consider why I do the things I do and how I could change my life to draw closer to God. I would recommend this book for those interested in growing and being challenged in their faith.

[Nicholas Seders · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Daily Office Jump Start
The best thing about this book, for me, was the daily invitation to silence; regularly showing up and seeing that item on the “agenda” helped me form a new habit of stopping throughout the day, just to be with Jesus. Knowing that this is what the book is designed to do, I give it a thumbs up!
The reason I didn’t rate the book higher is simply that much of the reflection material is recycled from Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: It's Impossible to Be Spiritually Mature, While Remaining Emotionally Immature (a 5-star book, I should say) - and I was reading both at the same time. As a result, it was all too easy to skim those sections that were fresh in my memory, rather than reading them thoughtfully.

[Gretchen Harriman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this devotional, along with the companion book “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality” several years ago to prepare for a women’s retreat. I didn’t get around to using this 40-day devotional at that time. I rediscovered it just prior to the new year, and decided to start off 2026 with it. The timing couldn’t have been better.

Given the events of the past month in Minnesota, this book, along with its practice of twice a day solitude and a “daily office”/appointment with God, sustained me. The beginning of 2026 has been trying and disheartening, and I don’t know how I would have handled things without this twice daily practice. I enjoyed the devotions and auxiliary readings so much that I purchased copies of this book to share with several friends before even finishing. No matter what emotional state you currently find yourself in, this book is filled with encouragement and practices that will foster deeper communion with God.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a devotional book that accompanies Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. Users are encouraged to do devotion twice a day, with two minutes of quiet time before and after the devotion. The devotion itself can be very short, as short as one minute. I find this format reasonably easy to implement: 5 minutes each time, two times a day. I also feel refreshed by the two minute quiet time before and after. The content of the devotional reading is good, but I often feel the devotional reading only barely explains or supplements the devotional Scripture verse. And some devotional reading are already used as illustrations in the book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, so I felt I was reading the same material repeatedly. All in all, I really like the format and will try to incorporate this format into other devotionals as well.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Daily Office is a traditional practice that has been around for generations having been established by the monastics. It's a wonderful way of helping you consciously and intentionally connect with God during the day.

Scazzero is a believer in it and in this 40 day book provides a gentle introduction to the practice. This book leans on the work of his Emotionally Healthy Spiritually providing a morning and afternoon/evening practice for the 40 days.

Each session includes:

1. Starting with silence for 2 minutes
2. A bible reading
3. A short reflection on the Bible reading provided by himself or another author he admires
4. A thought provoking question to challenge you to reflect on everything you've read
5. A short written prayer
6. Closing with silence for 2 minutes

It's very good and I'll looking forward to working through it again.

[Bert van der Vaart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok the title is a handful/mouthful. But I think this is one of the best devotional books I have ever read. Scazzero does a great job bringing up provocative Bible verses, amplifying them with a pithy quote from secondary (generally) Christian literature, and tying things together for a memorable prayer. A great way to start each morning and to recall the actions of the say at night. One of my favorite passages was, this one on the virtues of silence, from Isaac of Nineveh: "Silence like the sunlight will illuminate you in God and will deliver you from the phantoms of ignorance...", tied to Psalm 46 ("Be still and know I am God"). This book is full of the Biblically linked profound stops to starting each day.

[T.K. CHAPMAN · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was about a 3.5 for me. Some parts I appreciated a lot, but others caused some questions about faithfulness to Scripture. The book is meant to accompany the author's book, Emotionally Healthy Spiritually, but it's not necessary to read that one first or concurrently. I say not necessary, but it would probably be helpful. This book has 40 days of devotional material divided into 2 sections per day. The purpose is to get readers into a rhythm of short daily times with God.
Scazerro definitely leans toward the contemplative side of Christianity, which I don't dislike, IF you are grounded well in Scripture! Not being well grounded in God's Word can leave people open to developing a feelings-based faith.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource for slowing down...

...for loving union with God. Pete Scazzero not only preaches this, but it is obvious through this work that he practices it. Often, I find the readings exactly what I have needed to contemplate for radical transformation so badly needed in my own life. I have gone through this book twice now, and it was even more meaningful the second time around as the concepts worked their way deeper into my soul. I also recommend the Emotionally Healthy Relationships Day by Day book and would love to see Pete and Geri Scazzero write more Day by Day books. I greatly appreciate all I have learned through the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality program.

[Kyle McFerren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like what Scazzero is trying to do here, but I think it would've been more effective if he had just referred his readers to the BCP's Morning/Evening Prayer or another devotional. I read this as part of a church discipleship course, and although it definitely helped me to think through the material from the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality book, it often felt very repetitive - which I guess was partially the point.

The most beneficial part of the devotional to me was the two minutes of silence he begins and ends each devotional with. This was something I had never really tried before and will try to weave into my morning prayer time.

[Tobenna Ubu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transformative read

I thought this book was super spiritually helpful. If you've read Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, this book is great for putting into practice many of the truths such as focusing on daily office and sabbath. Additionally, the day by day format with references to the original book provides more time to engage with weighty truths of the original EHS in a more digestible format.

The guide helps facilitate going at your own pace. If you only of one entry per week day, this stretches an 8 wk series into a 16 wk, 5 days a week devotional.