Knowing I would be extremely busy today and not have much time to myself at all, I decided to set myself the challenge of spending the same amount of time I dedicate everyday to prayer in short bursts throughout the day by using 'arrow prayers'. Some of you may not know this term, which is just a fancy way of saying short prayers, a few seconds long at a time, throughout the day, regarding things you see, do, touch, hear and any thoughts that may come to you.
I found this not particularly effective as a means of prayer; not having a set time to sit down and pray, meant that I relied on my memory and any prompts much more, so ended up spending much less time in prayer, and felt quite empty by the end of the day (so did an extra 30 minutes of intercession after 'lights out'!). I think if I were to do it again, I'd have a physical reminder of prayer, so that every time I looked at it, I would remember to pray. However, I'm not sure this would work all that well either, as I already have a physical reminder of God, which is semi-successful!
I also found that having short prayers meant less opportunity for in-depth expression, less chance to listen to what God has to say to me (rather than my just telling him random facts) and focussed all my prayer into intercession or commentary, with less thanksgiving and remorse.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not advocating not using arrow prayers at all, as they can be incredibly beneficial and allow us to feel that God has more of an insight and activity in our lives than a scheduled block of time in each day, but I certainly do think personally, that I can only use arrow prayers in conjunction with a more disciplined, dedicated time of daily prayer.
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