Fixed Hour Prayer

I am an odd Baptist minister. Especially for such a conservative place as Fowler. One reason I am odd for a Baptist minister is because I celebrate Lent, alebeit in my own weird, quirky day.

One thing I am trying on for size during this lenten season is praying a more laid back version of "fixed-hour" prayer. I am using The Divine Hours--Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle. Instead of doing the prayers every half hour or hour, I am choosing to each one of the prayer sequences once in the designated prayer period. This means that I pray through written prayer sequences at sometime in a three hour time frame 3-4 times a day (depending on whether I do compline prayers). This is way out of my history and tradition of prayer, and I am not sure whether I like it, but I am learning some lessons that are insightful.

First, I have learned that truly praying requires me to slow down and focus. This may sound like common sense to some of you, but it isn't for me. I am used to praying as I rush down the road, or as I walk the dog. Not bad times to pray. But there is something to be said for slowing down, really thinking about the words of Scripture you are praying, and let them slowly seep into your soul. Fixed-hour prayer helps me quiet my soul and focus on God three or four times a day. That helps me stay prayerful and focused the rest of the day.

Also, I am learning about how I give God more of my garbage time than my treasured time. This is so much the case that I have moved most of my devotionals that I have purchased over the years to large empty shelf on the back of the toilet, in the hope that I will get my devotional time in while I am using the restroom first thing in the morning. That may be a quiet and peaceful time, but I think God deserves better.

What are you doing celebrating Lent? What ways of prayer do you find helpful? What makes prayer difficult for you?