Should We Pray Long Prayers or Short Prayers?

Have you ever wondered if we should pray long prayers or short prayers? I’ve gotten this question from readers several times. The question usually is something like this:

“Why do you write such long prayers? God knows what you need. Didn’t Jesus say not to pray long prayers? In fact, Jesus taught the disciples a model prayer, and it was very short.”

And, they often end with some statement about how they don’t like the prayers we release, and that they don’t think people should pray long prayers.

Well, these are very valid and important questions about prayer.

After all, there is a heavenly protocol; we have to come before God the way He prescribes that we should. So if God doesn’t want us praying long prayers, we shouldn’t do so.

But does the Bible actually tell us not to pray long prayers? Let’s look at the truth about this.

People often base their short-prayer theology on Matthew 6, where Jesus said this:

“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” (Matthew 6:7-13 NKJV).

In this passage, Jesus does give some instruction on prayer. Let’s look at what He tells us:

1. We should not use vain repetitions like the heathen do.
2. The heathens specifically think their prayers are heard in proportion to how many words they utter.
3. We should not be like the heathens, trying to get heard by how many words we can pray.
4. Our Father’s eye is already upon us, and He already knows what we need.
5. The model prayer Jesus gave the disciples teaches us that we should begin with praising and glorifying God, then praying in sympathy with His heart for His will to happen on the earth, and then we should pray for both His physical and spiritual help, and then we should acknowledge that He has the power to answer everything we ask.

But here’s the thing: none of this is about long prayer.

If Jesus’ discourse is not about long prayer, what IS it about, then?

In this passage, Jesus actually taught us the following:

1. When we go to pray, we should not sit there and say the same thing over and over, hoping to get God’s attention. That’s literally chanting, not prayer. We should not chant one sentence or one word and think that God will listen more if we say our chant more. The heathens literally repeated the same words or phrases, chanting to their gods, to try to earn answers!
2. We should come before God with confidence, knowing that He is our Father and He already knows AND cares about everything that concerns us. Something about coming boldly before the throne of grace comes to mind here. (See Hebrews 4:16.)
3. There is a pattern and a protocol for approaching the Father. We enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. We talk to Him about our needs, and we acknowledge who He is–putting our faith in Him to respond.

But Jesus actually prayed very long prayers.

Take a look at Luke 6:12 for one example:

“Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12 NKJV).

Yes, Jesus continued all night in prayer to God. All night. How would people who attack long praying view that, if they took the time to really think about it? Would they criticize Jesus?

Even in Matthew 26:36-45, Jesus asked the disciples to watch and pray while He entered into His agony of praying about the cross. And He rebuked them because they could not watch and pray one hour. If a person thinks we ought not to pray long prayers, what do they do with that?

Here’s the essence of why long prayer is Biblically supported:

FIRST, it’s about the size of your burdens.

Prayer is about talking to God, and hearing Him talk to you back. The essence of prayer is casting your burdens on the Lord, and listening to Him talk to you about those burdens. As it says in Psalm 55:22:

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22 NKJV).

When you pray, you do so to cast your burdens on the Lord. And that could take a short time or a long time. If you have only a few burdens, it might not take you very long to express those burdens to God and cast them on Him.

But, if you have many burdens, it is probably going to take you quite awhile to get them all off your chest and thrown at the feet of Jesus.

That is the first reason I write prayers that are long sometimes: I’m usually writing a prayer that I myself need in that moment. And I have many burdens:

• The burden of knowing that I am 100% weak without Jesus, and that I can do nothing without Him–yet I have a to-do list longer than my arm, and I’m desperately in need of His grace.
• The burden of knowing that only God is sustaining my immediate family when it comes to health. My husband is literally being kept alive by the word of Jesus’ power. So you better believe I’m going to spend a long time praying for him.
• The burden of raising a child. We have a miracle baby, and I’m so thankful–but parenting is a huge responsibility, and it takes PRAYER. Massive prayer. My child has significant health issues, too, so that requires lots of prayer.
• The burden of running a global ministry, with around 24,000 people on our email list alone that I am discipling, praying for, responding to as much as I can, prophesying to, mentoring, shepherding as I can, and so on. Of course, my team helps with this too, but we are a small team; and I’m just sharing why I, personally, have to pray a long time.
• The people I love who have desperate, serious needs. Much intercession is required when you love people who need the Lord’s help.
• The burden of people I know who are not living for God, which breaks my heart and they need Jesus. We are supposed to pray for the lost!
• The burden of having 8 people on our work team who need to be paid every month, plus additional vendors and many expenses–and much of the fundraising naturally falls on me. If you’re an entrepreneur and you have employees, you know the BLESSING they are–but also the very serious responsibility that it is to have employees. Employees have to feed their families, and it requires me to keep on my face before God in order to stay sane and receive His instructions and provision. (The Bible says that you have not because you ask not. So if you need to “have,” you need to ask–and that takes a lot of prayer.)
• The burden of my own family’s finances and needs, which I pray about daily.
• The burden of praying for my enemies. This is one of the #1 things I do every day. My enemies must be blessed people, because I spend massive time praying for their blessing.

I could go on and on. Friend, I don’t know about you, but I’ve got burdens.

Prayer is about casting your burdens on the Lord. But SECONDLY, it’s about receiving from the Lord as you cast those burdens.

Having many burdens requires much praying.

Personally, I can’t dump all my cares about all those things I listed above (and more) on the Lord in a moment or two. It takes time:

• It takes crying out to God.
• It takes me throwing myself at His feet and clutching desperately at the hem of His garment, begging Him for grace, strength, help, and provision to make it another day.
• It takes me listening diligently to hear His voice, for I beg Him for wisdom daily–and I cry out to Him to instruct me and teach me in the way I should go, and to guide me with His eye upon me.

But I HAVE to tell Him about these things because I can’t handle them on my own. I need His help. But it takes time to soak in His presence and receive from Him. And I don’t know about you, but I can’t get the kind of grace and comfort that I need in a two-sentence prayer.

Apparently, Jesus couldn’t also, since Scripture records that He spent long periods in prayer. And aren’t we supposed to emulate Jesus? I think we are. 🙂

Friend, how long does it take you to cast your burdens on the Lord and receive the comfort that you need?

Prayer is a living, breathing conversation. Prayer is the conversation of a dynamic relationship, where the lesser one (me or you) is blessed by the greater One (God), and we stay holding onto Him and will not let go unless He blesses us and gives us the strength we need.

Basically, the model prayer that Jesus gave the disciples was an example of how to structure a prayer, how to approach the Father, and what kinds of things to talk to the Father about.

But it was never a fence that told us to pray this much and no more. It was never intended to be a straightjacket that would inhibit the free flow of our casting our burdens on the Lord, pouring out our hearts to the Father, or receiving comfort from the One who knows us best and loves us most.

Of course, long praying is better when you are alone with God. When you’re praying in a group, there’s protocol; no one person should monopolize all the prayer time. But, the prayers we release on this website are personal prayers, not group prayers. They are meant to help you cast your burdens on the Lord, not lead a prayer meeting.

Therefore, in summary:

Whether you pray short prayers or long prayers is up to you–and to whether you have many burdens or few burdens.

I, personally, am hyper-aware of the fact that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. As it says in Deuteronomy 8:

“So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3 NKJV).

So, if I’m to survive every day, I’ve got to pray. Some days I have to pray longer than other days, but EVERY day we are all under the same command to pray without ceasing. (See 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.)

To sum it up, it’s up to you. Pray much or pray little. But, no matter what:

• Pray until you have the peace you want.
• Pray until you have cast every single last one of your burdens upon the Lord.
• Pray until you have received the comfort, strength, grace, and courage that you need.
• Pray until you have connected with God to the degree of intimacy and power that you desire.
• And keep on praying until you have received the answers you need from God. (See Luke 18:1-8.)

I hope this helps. If it does, I’d love to hear from you about it in the comments.