How much do you pray?

larryjf · #1 (**permalink**) 06-24-2005, 07:06 PM

How much time do you spend praying each day?

satz · #2 (**permalink**) 06-24-2005, 07:39 PM

Do you mean at altogeather in the day or at one session? cos 4 hours...

Sadly enough i voted for < 30. I wonder if there are any biblical referrences on how long a single session of prayer should be?

I find that beyond 20 minutes or so i find it increasingly hard to concentrate...

Also...am i the only one who finds praying with others can be a little..hard at times? I know we should pray togeather as a church, but between straining to listen to what is being said, then having to understand it and see if i agree ( hmm...i don't think it would be right to pray if u don't ? and sometimes the leader of a public prayer does throw out some unexpected things) its sometimes a little hard to concentrate on God.

PuritanBouncer · #3 (**permalink**) 06-24-2005, 09:12 PM

I never pray for a long period of time, but I do take most (I try to take all) things to the Lord in prayer. I pray little snippits to God all day trying to keep Him first in my mind in all things, but one real long session of prayer? Very seldom.

Abd_Yesua_alMasih · #4 (**permalink**) 06-24-2005, 09:50 PM

I have been struggling since leaving the charismatic church to pray nearly as much so I had to put <30

Although it is probably more than this maybe if I count all the times throughout the day. I never thought of it. Maybe I do pray more since as a charismatic we all spent a lot of time silent and doing nothing and simply waiting for God to speak.

VirginiaHuguenot · #5 (**permalink**) 06-24-2005, 09:54 PM

I am put to shame in this area by my heroes of the faith, but I will note some comments from or about some of them to encourage and, I hope, others:

"I have so much to do today that I should spend the first three hours in prayer." -- Martin Luther

"Pray often rather than very long at a time. It is hard to very long in prayer, and not slacken in our affections." -- William Gurnall

"Do not any day, upon any pretence, omit to offer up thy morning and evening sacrifice. Remember, so often as thou neglectest morning prayer, so often thou art all the day naked, destitute of thy spiritual guard, and exposed to all manner of evils and enemies, and dost forespeak thyself an evil day; and so often as thou omittest evening prayer thou presumest upon sleep, and rest, and safety, without God's leave, and forespeakest thyself an evil night." -- George Swinnock

"Pray often; for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourage to Satan." -- John Bunyan

"I have so fixed the habit of prayer in my mind that I never raise a glass of water to my lips without asking God's blessing, never seal a letter from the post without a brief sending of my thoughts heavenward." --Stonewall Jackson

Quote:

In General "Stonewall Jackson", God found a true man who would stand in the gap. Both strong and tender, the motto of his life was, "Lord what wilt thou have me to do?" As fervent in the field of battle, so was Jackson on his knees in prayer. "He was a man of prayer, accustomed in all he did to ask the divine blessing and guidance. His aid said that he could always tell when a battle was near at hand by seeing the General get up a great many times in the night to pray." General Jackson did not simply pray, he fervently prayed. The following story gives us some insight in the passion of his prayers. It was told the Rev. William Brown, "the truth is sir, that 'old Jack' (Jackson) is crazy. Why, I frequently meet him out in the woods walking back and forth muttering to himself incoherent sentences and gesturing wildly, at such times he seems utterly oblivious of my presence and of everything else."

"A friend was once conversing with Jackson about the difficulty of obeying the scripture injunction, 'pray without ceasing,' and Jackson insisted that we could so accustom ourselves to it, that it could be easily obeyed. When we take our meals there is the grace. When I take a drink of water, I always pause, as my palate receives the refreshment, to lift up my heart to God in thanks and prayer for the water of life. Whenever I drop a letter into the box at the post office I send a petition along with it for God's blessings upon its mission and upon the person to whom it is sent. When I break the seal of a letter just received I stop to pray to God that He may prepare me for its contents and make it a message of good. When I go to my classroom and await the arrangement of the cadets in their places, that is my time to intercede with God for them. And so of every other familiar act of the day." Though a man of superior abilities, Jackson humbly recognized his need for JESUS in everything he did.

Quote:

There is a particularly nice story related to Stonewall's black servant who always seemed to know before anyone else when Stonewall was about to go into a major battle. When asked how he always knew this, the man answered, "Massa Jackson allers prays ebery night and ebery mornin'; but when he go on expedishum he pray two, or tree, or four times duren de night. When I see him pray two, or tree, or four times duren de night, I pack de baggage, for I know he goin on an expedition."

[Ps 119:164]Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.

[Eph 5:20] Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

[1 Th 5:17-18] Pray without ceasing.
In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

[Col 3:17] And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

[Heb 13:15] By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

[Edited on 6-25-2005 by VirginiaHuguenot]

Peter · #6 (**permalink**) 06-24-2005, 10:02 PM

Quote:

"I have so much to do today that I should spend the first three hours in prayer." -- Martin Luther

:bigsmile: this reminds me of a sermon i heard online by Piper: http://www.biblicalpreaching.info/li...on.php?id=153#

Scott Bushey · #7 (**permalink**) 06-24-2005, 10:09 PM

Less than 30 minutes per session.

VirginiaHuguenot · #8 (**permalink**) 06-24-2005, 10:09 PM

Directory for Family Worship

Directory for Publick Worship

larryjf · #9 (**permalink**) 06-24-2005, 10:36 PM

Quote:

"I have so much to do today that I should spend the first three hours in prayer." -- Martin Luther

This also reminds me of something that i have heard...
You can tell alot about a person by the very first things they do when they wake up.

I hope that just thinking on the topic will help to drive us all to our knees in prayer. It is a wonderful thing to be in such an intimate communion with the Lord.

C. Matthew McMahon · #10 (**permalink**) 06-24-2005, 11:27 PM

Never enough.

WrittenFromUtopia · #11 (**permalink**) 06-25-2005, 01:29 AM

Not nearly enough.

JonathanHunt · #12 (**permalink**) 06-25-2005, 05:15 AM

I have hardly ever prayed more than half an hour at a time. I have sometimes had breaks in praying and read scriptures/books in between which I find very effective for focusing my mind and refreshing my thoughts.

Also, I never remember half the things I need to pray for, so I often end up praying at least two long-ish prayers in my main daily morning devotions.

But, as others have said, never enough.