Why spend so much time in prayer?

Ample times of prayer simply help in the more important quest of meeting with the Lord.

I spend an average of 3.5 hours a day in prayer and meditation to the Lord. I say this not to boast nor to judge. Who am I to judge anybody and their relationship with Christ their Master? But I mention my average time to hopefully inspire people to think a little differently about their own times with the Lord. Many followers of Jesus are simply scratching the surface of their friendship with Him. And because they're only scratching the surface, they're failing to reap all the wonderful spiritual benefits that come with having a thoughtful and robust relationship with God. There is so much more to be had that's being left on the table simply because people don't spend enough time with Him.

I hope to inspire people to see that having ample times of prayer with God is an alternative way of living in our world today. As Christians often like to say, "We are in the world but not of the world" (see Jn. 17:14). Our deep times of prayer and meditation are outright expressions of being a people who are not of this world. It flies in the face of what our world expects of us and influences us to do with our time, energy, and money. It is in direct opposition to a worldly way of thinking and being. It is in great defiance to living like the world. And it is in stark contrast to those who refuse to meet with the true and living God. We meet with God when most in this world will not. If we don’t meet with God, who will?

I also hope to inspire people to see all the abundant opportunities available to relate to God. Spending vast amounts of time with the Lord need not be tedious or boring. Three to four hours of prayer and meditation may seem like a lot of time to fill in. I know it did for me when I first started. But with some ideas and insights, creativity, a bit of structure, and a plan, your times with the Lord can be wonderful and exciting daily events. In fact, I feel that my times of prayer and meditation just zoom by these days. I hope to show that it's not that difficult to fill in the time appropriately should a person desire it and commit to it.

I do want to say though that I'm not necessarily recommending that everybody should reach an average of 3.5 hours of prayer and meditation each day. The goal in the end, of course, is to have a vibrant and meaningful relationship with God. The objective isn't to reach 3.5 hours of prayer time. Ample times of prayer simply help in the more important quest of meeting with the Lord, hearing from Him, and being empowered to live for Him in obedience. Each person will need to consult the Lord themselves to be convinced about how much time is appropriate for that meaningful relationship to occur. I should also note that everybody's life situation is different. What might work for me may not work for others given that we have different circumstances. I just hope to inspire some people to believe that they can do a little more, go a little further, and dive a little deeper in their relationship with Christ. And reap the spiritual benefits that come with that.

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.