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More Time Scrolling Than Praying: What a Desert Monk Taught Me
What the video says
The speaker admits spending more time scrolling on a phone than praying, a realization that came while watching a documentary about a monk who left everything to live in the same desert where Saint Anthony the Great lived. The speaker notes a pull toward monastic life and solitude, but says that with a family, that is not their path for now.
The monks have almost nothing: no home, little food, little water, and mostly no company, yet they face many temptations and thoughts, and their only possession is prayer. They repeat the simple prayer, 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,' all day long, trying to be with God. The speaker contrasts this with their own full days where prayer gets little time, and concludes that giving even half of the scrolling time to prayer would deepen their connection with God.
We do not have to become monks to spend time with God; we just need a small extra step every day. The speaker asks viewers how much time they spend praying and how much scrolling.
Key moments
- The speaker realized they spend more time scrolling on their phone than praying while watching a documentary about a monk who went to live in the desert where Saint Anthony the Great lived.
- The speaker feels drawn to monastic life and solitude, but says that with a family, that is not their path for now.
- Monks have almost nothing: no home, very little food and water, and mostly no company, while fighting many temptations and thoughts.
- The monks' only thing is prayer, often the simple Jesus prayer: 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,' repeated all day long to be with God.
- Prayer is our conversation with God, yet the speaker's days are full and it is hard to focus or find extra time for it.
- Giving even half of the daily scrolling time to prayer would make the connection with God deeper.
- We do not have to become monks to spend time with God; we just need to take a small extra step every single day.
- The speaker asks viewers honestly how much time they spend praying and how much scrolling.
The speaker admits to spending more time scrolling on a phone than praying. The realization came while watching a documentary about a monk who left everything to live in the same desert where Saint Anthony the Great lived. The speaker describes a pull toward monastic life and solitude, but says that with a family, that is not their path for now.
The monks in the documentary have almost nothing: no home, little food, little water, and mostly no company. They face many temptations and thoughts, and their only possession is prayer. They repeat the Jesus prayer, 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,' all day long, trying to be with God.
The speaker contrasts this with their own full days, where prayer gets little time and it is hard to focus or find extra time for it. The conclusion is that giving even half of the daily scrolling time to prayer would deepen the connection with God. The speaker says we do not have to become monks to spend time with God; we just need a small extra step every day.
The post ends with a question to viewers: how much time do you spend praying, and how much scrolling?
Main points
- The speaker realized they scroll more than they pray while watching a documentary about a monk living in the desert where Saint Anthony the Great lived.
- The speaker feels drawn to monastic life but says that with a family, that is not their path for now.
- The monks have almost nothing and fight many temptations; their only possession is prayer.
- They repeat the Jesus prayer, 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,' all day long.
- Giving half of the scrolling time to prayer would deepen the connection with God; a small extra step each day is enough.