The stronger the Christian, the longer his prayers. This concept seems to be an unspoken assumption in modern Christianity. It may be because of the notion that more is better. If prayer is a good thing, long prayers must be better than short prayers. Or this assumption arises from a celebrity culture mindset. If that famous Christian prays for an hour or two every morning, we should all be doing the same. Finally, the assumption that long prayers are better than short ones might stem from poor theology. Some people think God responds better to long prayers than to short ones. John Calvin addressed this bad theology long ago: “We find Popery to be so deeply imbued with this error, that it believes the efficacy of prayer to lie chiefly in talkativeness. The greater number of words that a man mutters, [they say] the more diligently he is supposed to have prayed.”¹ There are various reasons why people think it is more pious to pray long prayers than short ones.

This assumption is found today in the broader evangelical world. I have seen social media posts from popular evangelical leaders who write about spending an hour with God every morning during their daily quiet time. Among evangelicals who follow these leaders, this spiritual discipline of long prayer becomes an unspoken standard of piety. The idea that long prayers are more pious than short ones is also seen today in Reformed circles. The implication is found in Reformed literature: This or that Puritan woke up at 4:00 a.m. to pray on his knees for two hours, and we should do the same if we want our prayers to be powerful. It becomes a matter of comparison. Compared to those Christians who prayed for a long time, our prayers are terribly short and, thus, inferior.

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with spending a long time in prayer. Scripture shares the story of Jesus praying all night (Luke 6:12). The prophetess Anna fasted and prayed day and night (Luke 2:37). As long as we do not heap up empty phrases when we pray, it is certainly appropriate to pray lengthy prayers (Matt 6:7). As long as we do not think God will hear us better if we use many words, long prayers are acceptable to him (Matt 6:7). And whether long or short, prayer should never be a platform to show off piety (Matt 6:5).

Going against popular Christian assumptions, I will argue that short prayers are just as good and holy as long ones. It is a false conjecture to believe that Christians who pray long prayers are godlier than those who pray short prayers. Below, I demonstrate this point using Scripture and examples from church history. I am not making the argument just for the sake of making an argument. We have enough arguments in Christian circles! My goal in this essay is to free people from the burden of thinking they must pray long prayers to be better Christians. Lord willing, removing this burden will free up Christians to pray without worrying about the length of their prayers. You do not have to fall into the comparison trap of measuring your prayer life against that of other Christians.

A Brief Personal Aside

When I was younger, I agreed with the assumption that I should be a good Christian by praying long prayers every morning. I tried and failed. This led me to believe that I was not a great Christian. And it made me think that I would never be someone who prays well. Because I could not be like the Puritans and other spiritual giants who prayed for hours, I felt like my prayer life was a bust.

Thankfully, this period in my Christian life was very short. While I was trying to improve my prayer life, I was also reading good Reformation literature and hearing good sermons that distinguished between the law and the gospel. This led me to realize that I was making the length of prayer into law: Do this! I put myself under the law of “Thou shalt pray long prayers.” This resulted in guilt, feelings of failure, and very little desire to pray.

During this time, I remembered the gospel truth that because of Christ, I can pray to my heavenly Father anytime, anywhere, even in one-sentence prayers. Because of what Christ has done for me and because he always intercedes for me, I realized I do not have to wake up early to pray for an hour to be a good Christian. Based on the gospel, I now pray various short prayers throughout the day. I do not worry that I never pray for an hour or more. I am not trying to meet a quota for prayer length or time. I am not trying to follow the exact spiritual practices of other Christians. I am free to pray when, where, and however long I want. All this has made prayer much easier for me because my motive is simply to draw near to God in faith. I am no longer trying to meet some man-made standard of piety when I pray.

Although they may do it unintentionally, authors and preachers who imply that long prayers are better prayers place the burden of the law on the Christian’s shoulders. As we will see below, there is no command in Scripture that we must pray long prayers. Furthermore, there are no texts in Scripture that suggest short prayers are less pious or that weaker Christians pray shorter prayers. When authors or preachers suggest or imply that long prayers are superior, it ends up being a law-heavy guilt trip. (Are you spending hours on your knees? Why not?) Although they commonly occur, guilt trips are an improper way to motivate Christians to grow in faith and obedience. In fact, guilt trips often backfire because they make Christians prideful. (I can do this!) Or guilt trips backfire because they make Christians despair. (I can never do this!) Making the length of prayer an implied command puts Christians under a man-made law that sucks the joy out of prayer.

Short Prayers in Scripture

There are countless short prayers in Scripture. For example, many psalms are prayers. Psalm 86 is a classic example of a biblical petition: “Listen, O Lord. Answer me. For I am oppressed and needy” (Ps 86:1 New English Translation). David goes on to ask God to deliver him from trouble and evil men. He also praises God for his mercy, grace, and love (Ps 86:15). In our English translation, this prayer is seventeen verses. In Hebrew, Psalm 86 is 128 words in length. A person can pray this psalm in under two minutes. The same could be said about most other petitionary psalms, except for Psalm 119, of course. Although Psalm 119 is a lengthy prayer, it can be read in around twenty minutes, give or take. It is evident from the Psalms that short prayers are not inferior or less spiritual than long prayers. The Psalter contains wonderful examples of brief yet humble, heartfelt, faith-filled prayers to God. For the psalmists, short prayers were good prayers. The same goes for Christians today.

Another example of short prayers in the Bible is in the story of Elijah on Mount Carmel. That account sharply distinguishes between pagan prayer and true prayer to God (1 Kings 18). The pagan prophets of Baal cried out to their god for hours upon hours, using many words and even performing cutting rituals (cf. Matt 6:7). Elijah, however, prayed a short two-sentence prayer: “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are the true God and that you are winning back their allegiance” (1 Kgs 18:36–37 NET). Elijah did not feel the need to go away and pray for an hour or two. He knew that God would hear a short prayer from a heart of faith. Similarly, we can follow Elijah’s lead and pray brief, humble prayers from the heart.

I have always loved the story of the two men praying in the temple in Luke 18. Jesus used a “good” Pharisee and a despicable tax collector to teach about prayer and faith. The Pharisee, who was very “pious,” prayed standing in pride, thanking God that he was better than other people. The despised tax collector, on the other hand, humbly stood far away and did not dare lift up his eyes to God. The tax collector prayed a very short prayer: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13; six words in the Greek). Jesus said that the tax collector went home justified because of his humble faith. This story is yet another example of powerful short prayers in Scripture. Once again, we must not think that long prayers are intrinsically better than short prayers. You can pray godly prayers of true repentance in just one heartfelt sentence: “I am sorry, God, please forgive me!”

One of the greatest examples of a short prayer in the Bible is what we call the Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:9–13; Luke 11:2–4). The prayer the Lord gave us to pray to our Father is extremely brief. We can pray this prayer in less than thirty seconds. In Matthew’s account, this prayer follows Jesus’s teaching that we should not pray long-winded prayers like the Gentiles, who think long prayers get the gods’ attention (Matt 6:7). He tells us not to pray like them because our heavenly Father knows what we need even before we pray. So we can pray short prayers because there is no need to instruct God or fill him in on what is happening in our lives. He already knows it all. So pray like this: “Our Father . . . .” You may pray longer prayers, but Christ has given you the green light to pray short prayers as he taught.

There are many more examples in the Bible of God’s people praying short, fervent prayers. I do not have space to give examples of the short prayers of people like Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Samson, Gideon, Hezekiah, Jehoshaphat, Ezra, Mary, Simeon, the thief on the cross, and more. Men and women in Scripture prayed many short prayers. To be sure, there are some longer prayers in the Bible. And no doubt these saints may have prayed longer prayers that are not recorded in Scripture. But it is evidently and abundantly clear that the Bible gives no hint that longer prayers are more godly than shorter prayers. In fact, most biblical evidence shows that short prayers seem to be the norm for God’s people.

There might be some objections. One objection could be this: What about Paul’s command to “pray without ceasing”? (1 Thess 5:17; see also Eph 6:18a). Perhaps this means we should be praying lengthy prayers every day. In this imperative, however, Paul has in mind the frequency of prayer, not its length. Paul also tells Christians that they must work and fulfill the tasks God has called them to (1 Thess 4:11; 2 Thess 3:10). In fact, Paul said he himself worked hard day and night to earn money for food (2 Thess 3:8). A person cannot be on his knees in prayer and working a job at the same time. “Pray without ceasing,” then, cannot be literal: Pray all day and never stop. It means pray often, pray much, yet go ahead and do the tasks God has given you. It is like the story of the widow who kept going to the judge, saying, “Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy” (Luke 18:3 New Living Translation). She did not stay with the judge all day, but she did return repeatedly to make her request. This is how we should pray and not give up. This is what it means to “pray without ceasing.”

It is certainly good, proper, and pious to pray short prayers to God throughout the day. You can silently pray to God as you walk into the office, asking him to help you during a tough meeting. You can pray a one-sentence prayer when you wake up, asking the Lord to help you trust him throughout the day. After you stumble again and tell someone a lie, you can confess it to God and ask forgiveness in a short prayer. When you see two people laughing over lunch and it makes you smile, you can thank God for that in a very brief prayer. Do not worry if you cannot wake up early to pray. Instead, think of prayer as an ongoing conversation with God throughout the day (or night if you cannot sleep).

Note

1. John Calvin and William Pringle, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke (Logos Bible Software, 2010), 1:313.

© Shane Lems. All Rights Reserved.

Part Two

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Post authored by:

• Shane Lems

  

  Shane Lems is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California and has a DMin from RTS Orlando. He has been a church planter and pastor in the URCNA. Since 2013 he’s been serving as pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Hammond, WI. He is married and has four children. Shane has written numerous articles for Modern Reformation, New Horizons, and other publications. He is also the author of Doctrines of Grace: Student Edition and manages a book blog, The Reformed Reader.

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