The Protestant Anchorite

So, what does a monastic, an anchorite, do?  Most people would say, "They chant"; "They pray"; "They wear a habit"; "They make brandy."  While all of those things may be true (at least of some groups of cenobitic monks or nuns), probably the more important or revealing question is, "Why do they do those things?"  And the answer may be even more vague for Third Order monastics like myself.  We are usually called "Oblates."  The definition of that word answers the question.  Most literate people know that an oblation is an offering poured out to a god.  It doesn't imply anything less total or irrevocable than holocaust which is the word we would use for an offering that is made by fire.  When I pour out something to God, it becomes unsuitable for anything else.  I don't want to lick up the wine from the dirt.  The sacrifice is total and irrevocable.  I say again, "It's about Devotion".  Do you love God enough as your Divine Spouse that you want to pour yourself out to Him?  If the answer is "Yes", then an hour or two of "Quiet Time" of prayer, meditation and Scripture study is not going to do it for you.  Most of the early monastics began with the question, "How do I obey the Apostle Paul's command to "Pray without ceasing?"  Some would pray the Psalms, prayerfully reciting all of them every week (that's more than 20 per day, if you haven't looked at them recently).  Others who couldn't read, or did not have a personal copy of the Scriptures, recited 150 "Our Fathers" or a 150 repetitions of "The Jesus Prayer" per day.  Some of us can't do that much because of our temporal committments.  What are you willing to do to keep your mind on Christ all day long?