How much time do you spend in prayer?

[Stefan Davidovich]

Throughout my seminary studies I have made prayer a topic of ongoing research.

I'm going to post this topic in other forums...I'm looking for painfully honest answers. Prayer is something that most of us struggle with - so my question is this: how much time do you spend in prayer?

If you find you do not spend as much time in prayer as you would like please take heart - you are in good company. You'd be surprised to find out how little North American pastors pray...

This prayer time does NOT include time spent in devotions.

So please be as honest as possible.

Thanks for your help. Feel free to add any questions.

Stephen

[SumTinWong]

It is hard to pin down. I pray all day, sometimes short prayers sometimes long ones. I honestly could not put a number on it, but it is alot.

[unimportantbuthisnameis]

woo hoo, right now I'm 100%, but in all honesty I pray throughout the day whenever I get a chance. My prayers tend to be more of a conversation with God, rather than what most people consider to prayer (kneeling with "praying hands" and your head bowed {not that there is anything wrong with that sometimes}).

[Stefan Davidovich]

Thanks for the honest answers guys. Please keep it coming everyone.

[mohick95]

Need agree with other post. Not set aside time because pray when need to. If see someone need pray for me stop and pray... happens all day...

[ZiSunka]

Constantly.

[Sword-In-Hand]

like someone else said, im always having conversations with God like He's right next to me...oh wait, He is :) .

but usually in the morning and in the evenings i try to get on my knees in humility and pray to the Father. sometimes i do this all the time, and then others it seems i get laxed.

[SonOfThunder]

I set times to pray, I think I have to as I find (for me) that my mind can skim over a need another has and my words are not chosen properly. If I don't dedicate time to pray somewhere quiet I get easily distracted. I find praying while driving or as I walk is too full of distractions. When I go to bed if I lay down I drop off to sleep so I have to stay out of bed in a chair. For me waking earlier works while my mind is free of stressors. Guess we all have to find what suits us best.


James

[eutychus]

I generally allocate thirty minutes a day for intercession and repentance. Now if only I could set aside five percent of my day to conversation with the Lord... :sorry:

[seebs]

I went for "no set times", but actually, I generally set aside an hour a week for meeting for worship... But mostly I just pray when something strikes me as calling for prayer.

[PapaLandShark]

I'm in the "Constantly" crowd. Not so much a running dialog but working to make it a moment to moment thing. Walking with the Lord in every breath. Short prayers throughout the day or "talking" and longer ones when I wake and when I get ready for sleep. I'm enamored with the idea of every thought and action being a prayer or praise to the Lord. Wonderful!

Thanks for the question Stefan!

[newbeliever02072005]

I voted "no set times". I liked to talk to God throughout the day. Helps me to stay focused on Him.

[mesue]

I voted "I don't know"

I talk to God all the time, but I don't consider them prayers. Like "Official" prayers. My "Official" prayer time is in the morning after I read my Bible. But when there is a prayer request here I pray and post. When I'm driving in the car and see something cool, I tell God that it was cool, but is that a prayer? I don't know. I love the Lord and love to talk to Him, maybe I'm just babbling, but I sure do love Him and talk to Him alot.

[2Timothy2]

I don't "set aside" and specific time each day for prayer. Mostly it's just situational things that lead me to pray. But I've become dissatisfied with my 'prayer life' lately. I see how Jesus prayed and how I do and it makes me want to be more like He was in this area. I've also been reading some on how the Jews of His day prayed and that has attracted my interest. Although, as I've said elsewhere, a set pattern might become a simply rote excercise and lose it's true meaning for me. That's something I will need to guard against. But I definitely want to have specific times and maybe specific types of prayers. If for no other reason than as training in how to converse with God. Hopefully this makes sense. :scratch:

[CFoster]

I voted I don't know. I don't have scripted times of the day to pray, but I usually pray when I get up and before I go to bed, and then random times during the day. Sometimes I feel called to pray for someone, or just feel called to thank the Lord for His grace and love. I think the key to a good prayer life is quality, not quantity. With that said, I don't think I could ever pray enough to thank him for His grace and sacrifice.

I can't remember where I heard it, but it reminds me of a story. Someone was talking to Billy Graham about if there was anything in his life that he would change if he got to do it over, he said there was a few changes he would make. He said he would pray and read the Bible more. That says alot about the importance of your prayer life and study of the Word.

This topic has encouraged me to ask for the Lord's will in my prayer life. I never thought about praying for a prayer life that honors the Lord.

[abbygirlforever]

I pray whenever I need to. Usually it's just whispered prayers that only last a few seconds: thanking God for something, asking for help, etc. The only "set" time I have for prayer is when I go to bed and find myself laying on my back, staring at the ceiling again, lol.

[PaladinGirl]

Awww, I wanted to vote but noticed that you only want Baptists to vote. I will respect your rules and not vote but I will say how much I pray. ;) I usually pray for about 15 minutes before going to bed and sometimes some prayers that only last a couple of minutes throughout the day. Sometimes the prayers are very short prayers like as in, "Help me God" or something like that. :)

[RED that's ME]

Pray without ceasing.—1 Thessalonians 5:17

I pray throughout the day. I start before getting out of bed thanking God for another new day/new mercies/new grace and to help me through the day. :)


http://www.choiceshirts.com/images/A8/75/A8758A-md.jpg

[aReformedPatriot]

I keep 11 P.M. reserved for God. Sometimes I mess it up though.

[McDLT]

I usually pray whenever I get a chance. My schedule is quite flexible. Sometimes my prayers are short other times longer. I tend to talk to God more like a friend and I come to him in whatever condition I'm in.

I, too, find prayer an interesting topic and have studied in on and off again for the past 15 years.