Ora et Labora
I break up my times with the Lord into manageable portions and spread it out throughout the day.
People are usually a little astounded and their curiosity is piqued when I mention that I spend anywhere from 3-4 hours per day communing with the Lord in prayer. I know a lot of believers who also have this desire to spend ample and appropriate amounts of time with the Lord each and every day. I hear it from others on a regular basis. But it's just not an easy feat to accomplish on a regular basis. And I get it. We're busy people. We have families to take care of. We have responsibilities to fulfill. I know this well. I, myself, live in a modern world with a modern family and with modern responsibilities too. I'm not some traditional monk living in a secluded environment. I know what it's like to be short on time.
I have a simple strategy that's helped me spend lots of time with God in prayer. And it has worked quite well for me for the past 10 months. Basically, I break up my times with the Lord into manageable portions and spread it out throughout the day. I rarely spend a couple of hours straight in prayer and worship.
There's a saying that Benedictine monks have adopted as their motto: ora et labora. It's Latin for "pray and work." Monks living in monastic communities would often cycle between praying and working throughout the day. They'll do some sort of work or activity for a while. Then they'll go into prayer. Then they'll go and work some more. They'll repeat this pattern throughout the day.
I try to do something similar with my days. Instead of trying to pack in 3-4 hours of prayer and contemplation in one sitting, I'll spread it out throughout the day. I'll cycle between praying and working or doing an activity. The benefit to this strategy is that it helps make things more manageable for busy people like myself.
I usually begin my days immediately with prayer (waking up around 6:30 AM). Then I'll take care of family responsibilities like getting breakfast ready and dropping my son off at daycare. I'll then read various passages of the Bible. Afterwards, I'll get some work done (usually writing). Then I'll have some mid-afternoon prayers. I'll then work some more and do some form of physical exercise. In the evenings, I'll spend some time with my family and help get my son ready for bed. After putting my son to bed, I'll spend more time in prayer, which usually includes recalling and reflecting on memorized Bible verses and contemplating and journaling.
This is a typical day for me. What you'll notice is the cycling between prayer and work/activity throughout the day. When I put it all together, it's not unusual for me to hit 3-4 hours of intentional spiritual activity by the time the day is over. By cycling between prayer and work, I try to make things as manageable as possible for me to connect with the Lord for ample amounts of time. Try using ora et labora for your own times with the Lord and see if it helps you connect more with Christ each and every day.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
