The men and women of the Bible often observed set times of prayer during the day and night. We learn from the Old Testament (e.g. Judges 7:19 and Exodus 14:24) that the night was divided into three “watches”: the first watch, the middle watch, and the morning watch. These were originally used by watchmen to watch for enemy attacks in the night. If we assume a typical night went from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., then the first watch would be from 9:00 p.m. to midnight, the middle watch from midnight to 3:00 a.m., and the morning watch from 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. Eventually, these military watches became set prayer times for the devout.
In the book of Psalms we have such verses as:
“When I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night” (63:6); “At midnight I rise to praise you” (119:62), which is a reference to the middle watch; “Evening, and morning, and at noonday, will I complain, and moan” (Psalm 55:17); “Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules” (Psalm 119:164); “My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise” (Psalm 119:148).
In the New Testament, we see the apostles observing set times of prayer during the night as well as the day. We find references to prayer at midnight (Acts 16:25), the sixth hour (Acts 10:9), and the ninth hour (Acts 10:3).
Christian tradition has maintained this custom of set prayer times, which in the Catholic Church are referred to as: Matins/Lauds, Prime, Terce (third hour), Sext (sixth hour), None (ninth hour), Vespers, and Compline (this follows the seven prayer times mentioned in Psalm 119:164).
Now, it is not a requirement for Christians to pray seven times a day, or to rise at midnight or 3:00 a.m. in order to pray. However, the spiritual discipline of prayer is one that ought to pervade our lives. Prayer should not be confined to a 15-minute “quiet time.” The option is there for those who wish to double down on their spiritual disciplines. If your job permits, why not set a reminder for yourself to pray when you first enter the office, at lunch, and at some point in the afternoon? I am sure that King David and the Apostles and various other biblical figures were “busy,” and yet they made time for prayer at the set times, and worked their schedules around those obligations. May we be those who put our spiritual disciplines in the first place, even if it means we miss out on a social activity or hobby.
And there is another application: many aspects of Christian tradition that some are inclined to think of as “corruptions” or “man-made rules,” are not, in fact, that. Set prayer times, even if they be expressed by Latin words, do have basis in Scripture. The same is true for responsive readings. Psalm 136 was unquestionably written to be sung responsively, with the refrain being “for His steadfast love endures forever,” which is repeated 26 times. Another similar example is prayers involving repetition. In Revelation 4:8, we learn that “day and night” the four living creatures “never cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’” The idea of repetition in prayer or of responsive reading or of set prayer times are just three example of thoroughly biblical ideas that are sadly often discarded because they are seen as too rigid, too traditional, too liturgical, man-made, or not Spirit-led. But they are very much a part of the Bible and therefore ought to be embraced by Bible-believers.