Nov 04 2009
Setting a Proper Prayer Life Level
I will admit, my prayer life has been a roller coaster for years now. There are points, including recently where it has been extremely high and points where it has been practically non-existent. Usually the lows come immediately after a period of extreme high. I am currently at the point of extreme high that I have not reached before and I am now feeling the start of the burnout phase. I do not want that to occur since other things tend to happen when I hit those low points.
The problem is finding the proper level of prayer life to avoid the highs and, thus, cause the lows to occur due to burnout. There are a number of prayers that are obligatory for me. These include Divine Office (also known as the Liturgy of the Hours), the Rosary, certain prayers to the Holy Guardian Angels, and Eucharistic Adoration (although not absolutely mandatory is encouraged). All of these are related to investitures and/or groups I belong to.
Other than that, all other prayers are not required of my obligation. Yes, I still want to say them, but maybe not all every single day. I need to figure out a schedule for these prayers so that they are said only once or twice a week.
Another advantage of a measured approach to my prayer life is that I will avoid the tendency of rushing my prayers due to time constraints. This is not no much of a problem on the weekends, but is during the week. As it is right now, if I do the prayers at the proper pace, I do not leave much time in the mornings before work to do anything else. This is the time here I feel most rushed.
I will be working on this the next couple of days and will probably speak to one of the priests I know about setting a proper prayer life.
