p. 53 | Length of Prayers

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 14, 1868

Length of Prayers

LENGTH OF PRAYERS.— The subject of the length of prayers is occupying the attention of some of our exchanges. A correspondent of the Congregationalist and Recorder approves of the opinion of an other, that a prayer in the pulpit should never occupy over eight minutes, and says:

The Lord’s prayer occupies about a minute. Our Saviour’s prayer for his disciples, in which he seems to pour out his whole heart of love in their behalf, is about four and a half minutes long: Daniel’s remarkable prayer, chapter ix, three minutes; Ezra’s, chapter ix, two minutes; Nehemiah’s, chapter ix, five and a half minutes; Solomon’s at the dedication of the temple, five minutes; David’s greater prayer of confession, Psalm li, three minutes; the Apostle’s prayer, on the important occasion of filling the vacancy occasioned by the defection of Judas, is about twenty seconds long. I think that in none of the Psalms is the form of praying—direct address to God—kept up for a longer time than five or six minutes.”

The writer also says that he has heard a prayer, dedicatory of a very small meeting-house, more than seven times as long as that of King Solomon at the dedication of the Temple of Jerusalem.