Have you ever looked at the number of prayers and Bible passages Orthodox Christians go through each day and wondered why we need to spend so much time doing all this?
St. John Cassian answers,
We practice the frequent reading of Scripture, so that we may be open to a spiritual point of view. For this reason we frequently chant the psalms, so that we may continually grow in compunction. For this reason we are diligent in vigils, fasting, and praying, so that the mind which has been stretched to its limits may not taste earthly things but contemplate heavenly ones.