Praying At Set Times Each Day

One practice that has been most useful in my prayer life is having set times for prayer.  Now, I must admit that I am a person who likes routine and schedules.  I guess going to the Naval Academy at 17 and then into the Marine Corps did something to set that into my personality :).  In fact, those who know and love me the best say I just might be a bit OCD.  So it is no surprise that having a specific schedule for prayer times would be something I like.

However, I am not alone in this.  In Psalm 5:3 the Psalmist says “O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice”, and in Psalm 88:13 we read “But I cry to you for help, O Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you.”  But this is not simply about morning prayer, for in Psalm 119:62 we read “At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws.”  Finally, in Daniel 6:10 we learn that Daniel had a set practice of praying three times each day.  The thing to note is that these believers had definite, set times that they gave to prayer.

I have found this to be a very helpful practice to keep me in a rhythm of prayer.  I do begin with a brief time of prayer shortly after I awake in the morning.  But I also have  alarms set on my phone for a time later in the morning and then another in the mid-afternoon.  This ensures that the day does not speed away and I find I got busy and never “found time” for prayer.  The alarm goes off and I stop what I am doing and spend time in prayer.

The things I value the most are things that I schedule.  I have a set day off to give me time to be with Linda.  I have set times for exercise.  And I have set times for prayer.  It is simply too important to leave to chance.  I encourage you to find a set time that works for you, and then to regularly pray at that time.

In Christ,

Bret