Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1839-10-09
From the Boston Recorder.

LONG PRAEERS. |
Messrs: Editors, ~ Permit me, THROUGH
your paper. to say a few words about long
prayerss-long prayers in the pulpit, in
the social meeting, in the family, and in
secret. q
\. Long Prayers IN The Pulpit.-Dif
ferent men vary as 10 length, some occu-
plying IN the long prayer, ten, some fis-
teen, seme twenty. some thirty, and some
even forty and fifty minutes. How long
should prayers be? Evidently the lenoth
should vary somewhat. with Circumstance
es. Common sense teaches that. when 4
auditory becomes weary, and beains to he
restless, changing their position frequent
ly, and sitting down, -thus showing that
their most fervent prayer is that the minis
ter may find a close soon, he should have
lstopped before. We shall find, if we ex.
anime Scripture, that there are neitherex-
amPles nor instructions in favor of lono
prayers in public. The Longest public
.fprayer recorded or spoken of, think, is,
THAT of Solomon at the dedication of the
Iemple, e Chr. viz which cannot have
OCCUPIED more than fifteen minutes. and |
hardly think more than ten. If the in
structions OF Christ are of any weight on
this point, thsy are at least an admonition
to be short.
IL. Long Prayers az The Social Meet
sng.-AIl the arguments against long
prayers IN the pulpit, will apply to social
meetings And such meetings, if they
are what the term indicates, are social.
aud should not be monopolized by long
prayer. Short prayers, short speeches,
and short hymns, are HE life of these
meetings. II is an outrage of proprietv
10 occupy fifteen or twenty minutes in a
: lprayer at such seasons and vet it is Oft
, len dole.
t Ill. Long Prayers IN the Familq.-I
4 have sometimes been in families when
; actually dreaded the hour Of family pray
! ers. First, a whole chapter is read from
, the Bible, if sixty verses long, and a
] mere record of names and dates, no mat
, Ter, il. must then be read. Then comes
! the prayer. Perhaps tits 9.o'clock iaIhe
: erening, the family all tired and sleepy
= and they held upon their knees until wea
} Try nature yields to the power Of sleep
: But. a few days since an instance of the
$ kind occurred, where prayers are usually
from ten to fifteen minutes long. The Iii
d tie fellow felt mortified about il, but have
Y mo doubt who was the most to blame.
: cannot conceive of the pfopriety or til,
Il use Of such Unreasonable habits Of deyo
ELTON. Ii may be replied tina. we ought /,
4 lbe willing 10 hear long prayers. car,
e mot fol. that. mot only doubt the assertion
g but kaoo the practice will never presen
: the Christian duties to those who are no
n ipious. in any other than an unlovely an
d Eunaltractive aspect We are not to b
b idfiSen to Christ, but drawn. Love is. III
d true attractive principle. Were I to Civ
an opinion as to the length Of prayers,
% should uhhesilatingly say-and reason
P experience. and scripture favor the opiu
ID lion--that prayers in the pulpit should Sc
Id dom exceed ten minutes. and in prival
3 meetings and families, they should not o
10 dnariiy exceed five.
he Nv. Long Prayers IN Secrst-Pra
rs in secret as long as you please. The e.
OF ample Of the good patriarch Jacob, wh
be lwresiled with the angel .tililhe bieakin
IN LOT the day. and of Christ, who frequen
ie- Is invent into the deserts and mountain
US and prayed all night, will justify you
IN spending as much time in secret devotion
'us and j presume that no one will conden
Is, it, The reverse Of the above doctrine
aas oostrue in practice. The rule, or mot