Ecclesiastes 5:2
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
A. W. PINK (1886-1952): What a contrast is this from the long drawn out and wearisome prayers in many pulpits today! Such a verse as this appears to have no weight with the majority of ministers…If any of our readers be distressed because of this, we would ask them to make a study of the prayers recorded in Holy Writ—in Old and New Testaments alike—and they will find that almost all of them are exceedingly short ones.
ROBERT C. CHAPMAN (1803-1902): The prayers recorded in Scripture say much in few words.
C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): As to the prayer which our Lord taught His disciples, it can be uttered in less than a minute. Indeed, we may say, without exaggeration, that if all the prayers recorded in the New Testament were read consecutively, they would not occupy nearly so much time as we have frequently known to be occupied by a single prayer in some of our so-called prayer meetings.
D. L. MOODY (1837-1899): The prayer our Lord taught His disciples is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer. I think that the Lord’s prayer, more properly, is that in the seventeenth of John. That is the longest prayer on record that Jesus made. You can read it slowly and carefully in about four or five minutes. I think we may learn a lesson here. Our Master’s prayers were short when offered in public; when He was alone with God that was a different thing, and He could spend the whole night in communion with His Father.
THOMAS MANTON (1620-1677): Prayer doth not consist in a multitude and clatter of words, but in the getting up of the heart to God, that we may behave ourselves as if we were alone with God, in the midst of glorious saints and angels…The Pharisees, that they might be counted great devotionaries, would make long prayers.
H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): Jesus condemned them for making long prayers in public just in order that they might be seen of men.
JOHN GILL (1697-1771): Not that all lengthy prayers are to be condemned, or all repetitions in them; our Lord was all night in prayer Himself; and Nehemiah, Daniel, and others, have used repetitions in prayer, which may be done with fresh affection, zeal, and fervency; but such are forbidden as are done for the sake of being heard for much speaking, as the heathens, who thought they were not understood unless they said a thing a hundred times over; or when done to gain a character of being more holy and religious than others.
MATTHEW POOLE (1624-1679): Long prayers are not to be condemned, but the affectation of them is.
THOMAS MANTON: What is the reason men have such a barren, dry, and sapless spirit in their prayers?
D. L. MOODY: Long prayers are too often not prayers at all, and they weary the people.
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Some people seem to think that in prayer they must go through the Westminster Assembly’s Confession of Faith, or some similar compendium of Doctrine—but that is not real praying.
C. H. MACKINTOSH: What can be more painful than to hear a man in prayer explaining and unfolding doctrines? The question forces itself upon us: “Is the man speaking to God, or to us?” If to God, then surely nothing can be more irreverent or profane than to attempt to explain things to Him; but if to us, then it is not prayer at all…How often are our prayers more like orations than petitions—it seems, at times, as though we meant to explain principles to God, and give Him a large amount of information.
WILLIAM S. PLUMER (1802-1880): Some seem to feel the impropriety of such speech, and to save themselves they say, “Thou knowest.”—Nor should prayers be tedious.
C. H. SPURGEON: I have heard a Brother pray a wearisome while; and I believe he was long because he had nothing to say. A horse can run many miles if he has nothing to carry. Long prayers often mean wind and emptiness.
C. H. MACKINTOSH: Some seem to think it necessary to make one long prayer about all sorts of things—many of them very right and very good, no doubt—but the mind gets bewildered by the multiplicity of subjects.
A. W. PINK: How many prayers have we heard that were so incoherent and aimless, so lacking in point and unity, that when the amen was reached we could scarcely remember one thing for which thanks had been given, or request had been made, only a blurred impression remaining on the mind?
JOHN NEWTON (1725-1807): This is frequently owing to an unnecessary enlargement upon every circumstance, as well as to the repetition of the same things. And here I would just notice an impropriety we sometimes meet with, when a person gives expectation that he is just going to conclude his prayer, and something occurring that instant to his mind, leads him to begin again. But, unless it is a matter of singular importance, it would be better omitted. The tone of the voice is likewise to be regarded. Some have a tone in prayer so very different from their usual way of speaking, that their nearest friends could hardly know them by their voice.
D. L. MOODY: My experience is that those who pray most in their closets generally make short prayers in public.
C. H. SPURGEON: God does not measure our pleadings by the yard. Prayer must be estimated by weight, not by length. It is necessary to draw near unto God, but it is not required to prolong your speech till everyone is longing to hear the word “Amen.”
C. H. MACKINTOSH: It will, perhaps, be said that we must not prescribe any time to the Holy Spirit. Far away be the monstrous thought! Are we presuming to dictate to the Holy Ghost?
JOHN NEWTON: Not that I think we should pray by the clock, and limit ourselves precisely to a certain number of minutes—but it is better of the two, that the hearers should wish the prayer had been longer, than spend a considerable part of the time wishing it was over. There are, doubtless, seasons when the Lord is pleased to favour those who pray with a peculiar liberty; they speak because they feel; they have a wrestling spirit, and hardly know how to leave off. When this is the case, they who join with them are seldom wearied, though the prayer should be protracted beyond the usual limits.
A. W. PINK (1886-1952): We would not overlook the fact that when the Spirit’s unction is enjoyed, the servant of Christ may be granted much liberty to pour out his heart at length—yet this is the exception rather than the rule, as God’s Word clearly proves.
C. H. MACKINTOSH: During very many years of close observation, we have invariably noticed that the prayers of our most spiritual, devoted, intelligent, and experienced brethren have been characterized by brevity, definiteness, and simplicity. It is according to scripture, and it tends to edification, comfort, and blessing. Brief, fervent, pointed prayers impart great freshness and interest―but long and desultory prayers exert a most depressing influence upon all. Long prayers are terribly wearisome; indeed, in many cases, they are a positive infliction.
