Quotes:

There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizrre and inexplicable.

There is another which states that this has already happened.

-Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Christianity:

"A young man in Bible school offered to help David Wilkerson years ago when he was ministering on the streets of New York City. Wilkerson asked him how much time he spent in prayer. The young student estimated about 20 minutes a day. Wilkerson told him, 'Go back, young man. Go back for a month and pray two hours a day, every day for 30 days. When you've done that, come back. Come back, and I might consider turning you loose on the streets wehre there is murder, rape, violence and danger...If I sent you out now on 20 minutes a day, I'd be sending a soldier into battle without any weapons, and you would get killed.'

"You can get into heaven, my friend, without a lot of prayer. You can have a one-minute quiet time every day and God will still love you. But you won't hear a 'well done, good and faithful servant' on one-minute converstaions with God. And you certainly can't make it on that kind of prayer life in the hard places where Jesus is not known or worshiped. Here's a challenge for you: Read everything Paul says about prayer, then ask yourself, 'Am I willing to pray like that?' Paul said that he prayed 'night and day... with tears... without ceasing... with thankfulness... in the Spirit... constantly... boldly... for godly sorrow... against the evil one.'"
-Floyd McClung, *Apostolic Passion, article in Perspectives on the World Christian movement, 1999.

What do you think? Is it God's ultimate desire that Christians spend two hours of every day in prayer? Did Paul expect all Christians to pray as he did? Will God not say "Well done" to those of us who spend only two hours or two minutes a week praying?

Or is this just an expression of American Evangelicalism? Perhaps it is an ideal that the leadership of the movement sets too high to be actually attainable, so that they can maintain power over the rest of us by feelings of guilt and duty?