7 Reasons to Establish 10-Minute Prayer Times Each Day

I encourage my students, mentees, and church members to use “10-minute” time segments to spend time in prayer each day. By that, I mean, “When you have a 10-minute break, use that time to talk to God.” Here’s why I think this approach matters:

1. For folks who struggle with prayer, a 10-minute segment is a good start. In some cases, those 10 minutes might still seem like an eternity as we’re getting started—but we’ll never pray more until we at least begin.
2. All of us can find 10-minute segments to pray. We have them each day; it’s just that we usually fill them with something else. We check social media, send emails, turn on the television, eat something, etc. The time is there, but we need to turn our attention to God then.
3. Several 10-minute segments a day add up to a significant portion of our day in prayer. There’s nothing more spiritual about praying for 60 consecutive minutes than praying six times for 10 minutes each. In fact, the latter may even come closer to “praying without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17) than praying only one time for an hour each day.
4. We can often stay more focused for 10 minutes. Many of us are easily distracted, and our minds wander in prayer. It’s easier to stay focused, though, when we’re praying for only a few minutes at a time.
5. 10-minute segments allow us to “lock in on” particular prayer themes. For example, I might use six 10-minute times today to pray these ways: praise God for His goodness; intercede for non-believers; pray for my church’s leaders; lift up my immediate family; ask God’s forgiveness for my sins; and, plead for God to reach an unreached people group.
6. 10-minute segments allow us to pray in multiple settings. Think about some of the other things we often do for at least 10 minutes—and that give us opportunity to pray at the same time: driving to work, taking a walk, cutting the grass, running on the treadmill, fixing a meal, etc. Prayer takes temporal activities and gives them eternal significance.
7. Consistency in 10-minute praying often leads to increased praying. When we develop a consistent habit of talking to God and learn to love the value of those conversations, we usually want more. The habit we put in place then becomes part of our spiritual DNA.

What other benefits of 10-minute prayer segments come to mind for you? And, for other ways to use your 10-minutes segments to walk more closely with Christ, check out this post.