How much time for prayer in a day?

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amoiesu

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in my spiritual life i tend to go back and forth between “overdoing it” and “underdoing it”. i’ll get really excited about a moment of grace i received and want to spend all day every day in prayer and devotions, but then i tend to neglect other things that need my attention and about a few days or couple weeks later i’ll experience “spiritual burnout” and start abandoning prayer almost completely out of mental exhaustion, which leads to guilt about not giving God my time. a lot of times that burnout extends into a rather long “mostly prayerless” period before i experience another nudge to make more time for God, and during that period the idea of taking time away from my hobbies and projects for devotional practices feels like a chore (although i’m usually thankful afterwards if and when i finally get around to it).

so my question is, based on your personal experience and recommendations from trusted sources in the Church, how much time out of the day is healthy or temperate to spent in spiritual practices versus other interests and work – not too much and not too little?
i’m a single layperson planning to make a private vow of perpetual chastity, so i want to please my “Divine Spouse” but also have to be realistic as i’m still a layperson.
a work day probably gives me 8-11 hrs free time max, and a day off would probably give me an additional 5-8 hrs minus a couple hours for Mass on Sunday.
 
Don’t you have a spiritual director if you are planning a vow of chastity?
 
How much time an individual should dedicate to daily prayer cannot be generalized. Even for two people in identical circumstances—state in life, number of hours spent working, number of hours free of more pressing responsibilities, etc.—the answer could be different. It can also change over time even if your basic life schedule does not.

If you have trouble understanding how much is too much and how much is insufficient, rest assured that you are not alone in that. :raising_hand_woman:t2: I’ve been there. Discussing the situation with my spiritual director (or confessor, when in between SDs) helps me achieve the proper balance for me at that particular point in my life, so I suggest that you take this question to your parish priest, confessor or spiritual director, someone in real life who knows you well. You will get an answer more appropriate for you specifically than any of us could possibly offer.

God bless!
 
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Our daily life’s work can be prayer… offer it to God, and keep your mind on God. Prayer doesn’t have to be formal prayer, as it simply means raising your mind and heart to God.

Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Click to expand...
 
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So, here is what I do. It is based on a suggestion from a book called A Mother’s Rule of Life.

It all starts with critically reflecting on what kinds of practices and devotions you want to be your mainstays. Her general advice was to have a morning, midday, and evening prayer time. She then suggests that you plan all the other events of the day around those prayer needs. Once this has become routine, you can then add more devotions/prayer periods. This way you slowly build up your spiritual regimen without overwhelming yourself or neglecting your responsibilities.

So, my plan is pretty simple right now: morning offering/prayer, rosary, and Evening prayer. Plus daily mass with adoration once a week.

Another good tip is that you don’t have to prayer an entire rosary in one sitting. You can spread the decades throughout the day.

Fulton Sheen suggested that everyone spend an hour of their day in prayer. That might be a good guideline. Again, you don’t have to do it all at once. If your schedule is packed, break it up into 20 minute blocks.
 
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I always pray 10 minutes before I go to bed. I also go to confession once a month and adoration for 30 minutes.
 
Church tradition says that the “busier” you are, the more time you ought to set aside for prayer.
 
It depends. But you should have a plan of life. A schedule for prayer each day that stays mistletoe consistent then you don’t have as much of an excuse to pray less on the days you don’t feel like it because you want to keep your commitment to prayer.
A lay group I know that emphasizes seeking holiness in ordinary life recommends usually daily Mass, 30 minutes of mental prayer, the Rosary, spiritual reading, and like 10 minutes reading of the New Testament. And some other short prayers in there like the memorare and morning offering and Grace before and after meals and little aspirations throughout the day as well as offering up your work and small mortifications throughout the day. It seems like a lot, but this is what the laypeople commit to in this specific group. And these are busy people with jobs and families and other commitments so it is possible. Although it is not always possible for everyone. Just try to make a plan that works with your schedule and state in life. You may have more or less time to pray. And try to be faithful to your plan of life regardless of how you feel. That is more pleasing to God than praying a lot when you feel like it and less when you dont
 
As you’ve probably already figured out, we ought to avoid all extremes in these matters.

I would recommend establishing a set amount of prayer for each day (maybe with the help of an experienced priest) that is reasonable (not too far on either extreme), and sticking to it.
 
I pray about 1.5 hour a day, excluding daily Mass. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I try to do at least 45 minutes to an hour in the early morning. This includes the Rosary, and I’m a very slow Rosary pray-er. I try to go to Mass at noon and when I do I usually have 15-30 minutes total before and after for quiet prayer. I pray about 5-10 minutes before bedtime, or at least try to do so–I’m usually too exhausted to do much prayer then. I do weekly Adoration and a lot of spiritual reading. I chat with God and the Blessed Mother much of the rest of the day informally.
It took me many, many years to build up to this level of prayer. I now have a more introspective and leisurely life than I did as a young career person. As others have said, prayer is a very individual thing and you have to follow the Spirit where He leads.
 
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most people in the modern age can’t find or afford a good spiritual director to take all their little questions to and making private vows doesn’t require one. plus, all the times i’ve sought spiritual direction or counseling from a priest in the past the answer’s always been “talk to God about it” or “what do you think you should do?”. some unspoken rule seems to keep them from giving any actual advice or counsel. if i already knew the answer or had audible revelations from God, i wouldn’t need to spend the time and money to ask someone else.
 
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I hear you! I just thought you would have one because of your plans.

You have gotten a lot of good advice!
 
That’s one of the beautiful about a private vow versus religious vows or diocesan consecration, there’s a lot of freedom and independence with very little obligation (except of course keeping your vow). It’s sometimes recommended to speak with a priest sometime before to discuss discernment and stuff, but neither the priest nor anyone else in the Church can either give or deny permission because it is regarded as a personal decision and how you live it is also your own choice.
 
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Oh, thank you 🙂 Your reply was interesting and informative. I thought something like that was more fornal!
 
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