Getting your three-a-day (or more)

16 

But I call to God,

    and the Lord will save me.

17 

Evening and morning and at noon

    I utter my complaint and moan,

    and he hears my voice.

18 

He redeems my soul in safety

    from the battle that I wage,

    for many are arrayed against me.

19 

God will give ear and humble them,

    he who is enthroned from of old, 

Selah

(Psalm 55:16-19a)

In this Psalm of David we get a glimpse of one of his prayer practices, which also appears in other places in scripture and Judeo-Christian writings: praying at three points in the day: morning, noon, and evening. Sometimes they are called "the hour of prayer".  Of course some did adhere to the "letter of the law" - they would not be caught dead showing up in public anywhere else at those times of day.  But David shows us the true intent. We need more than a quick "help me today" in the morning, or a "now I lay me down to sleep at night," with a few "thank you for this food" one-liners in between. Prayer is often, often intense, often a matter of life and death spiritually.  David developed a lifestyle of prayer which we would do well to follow.  Make sure you get your three-a-day, with lots of snacks in between.