I have always come across questions like, “What is the best time to pray?” And each time I ask this question in a doctrinal session, there are always diverse answers. Some will say in the morning, others during the day, some in the night and others at midnight. From their answers, there seem to be no unique answer to this question because as people are different so too their prayer lives.
I will answer this question in another point of that will help us to clearly define the best prayer times of our lives.
I will make it clear here that there is no universal prayer time apart from devotional prayer times that has been put in place by the Church such as the Angelus prayer that is prayed at 6 am, 12 pm and 6 pm; and others. But talking about personal prayer the best time varies from one person to another and another person’s best time may not automatically be your best time.
The following factors are very important in determining the best prayer time of an individual:
a) Understanding Prayer: to pray to God is to talk to your Almighty Father who is in heaven, Lk 11:2. The church teaches that prayer is the raising up of hearts and minds to God which means talking to God is not like talking to somebody in a beer parlour or inside a taxi. It is talking to someone that does listen to our hearts more than our words. It must be done in a concentrated environment that will help us to be focused on God and him alone. In prayer, body and soul must be together and directed to God. With this you can determine what time is best for you to be fully focused to God in prayers.
b) Your environment and Schedule: Where you live matters a lot in determining the best time for prayer. There are some who live in places that are noisy at night and quiet during the day and vice versa. Some are more busy themselves in the morning than they are in the evenings because of their businesses, jobs, etc. all these must be taken into consideration. For example if I live in a place where there is too much noise in the morning than at night, my best time to pray would be at night when places are quiet. If my job does not permit me to get up and pray in the morning and when I come back from work I am usually tired, I may make time during break to go some where quiet enough to pray. It all depends on each and every one of us.
The best time for prayer can only be determined by an individual concern. You can always make time to pray if you want to. In the bible we see different people praying differently; some prayed in the morning, some during the day, some in the evening some at night, etc. in all God listens to prayers no matter the time you pray all that matters is if you pray with faith.
Pray that God may help you in prayers and allow yourself under the control of the Holy Spirit.
0 Komentar