"But, although it has already been stated above that, lifting up our hearts, we should ever aspire to God and pray without ceasing, since our weakness is such that it has to be supported by many aids, and our sluggishness such that it needs to be goaded, it is fitting each one of us should set apart certain hours for this exercise. Those hours should not pass without prayer, and during them all the devotion of the heart should be completely engaged in it. These are: when we arise in the morning, before we begin daily work, when we sit down to a meal, when by God's blessing we have eaten, when we are getting ready to retire."
Calvin, Institutes, III, xx, 50
The specifics of when to establish times of prayer are, of course, debatable, but I think Calvin was on to something when he wrote that human weakness conditions the need to have some pattern for prayer. Otherwise, thinking we are mature enough to "pray without ceasing" without any regimen, we might deceive ourselves and never pray!
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