Frenetic activity against contemplation

Everything happens so quickly these days. We live in an instant society we expect an instant spirituality and relationship with God without having to work at it.
Sittser writes that God calls us to work and prayer. Jesus also followed this rhythm by retreating for private prayer and returning to the world to do his Father’s will. If we separate these two things we become disengaged both with God and the world. Work without prayer becomes an idol and prayer without work only serves ourselves. (Sittser 2007:114).
This rhythm is where I struggle. I find routine boring. Evagrius warned about this sixteen hundred years ago. (ibid 115) In our fast-paced world we find things that need patience difficult. But I’m a patient person when it comes to getting something right, or showing someone how to do something, so why do I want a ‘quick fix’ when it comes to God? Being able to run didn’t happen overnight. It had to be built up gradually. It took six months to get from being able to run for 1 minute to 1 hour. There were times when I really wanted to give up but I persevered. That was achieved with variety – different routes, different things to think and pray about. It actually helped with my rhythm of prayer. I think what I need is rhythm with variety.