Someone asked me a question a day ago, He asked "Why don't we just pray for a short period of time,is it always necessary that we pray for long? I shared what i could with him and thought i should with you too.
The act of prayer has a lot of influence on the consciousness we carry as a person. Prayer is not just asking God, it is also a way of letting the Word settle deeply in our spirit. The more we stay in the place of prayer, the more our hearts quiet down and our minds focus on the truths of Scripture. This is why Joshua 1:8 commands us to meditate on the Word “day and night.” Long prayers may give us an opportunity to meditate, confess, and declare the Word until it becomes part of our very consciousness. Paul echoes this in Colossians 3:16, urging us to let the Word of Christ dwell richly in us. That richness often comes in extended, unhurried moments with God.
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When we pray, it often feels as though our entire mental database begins to flash before us. Thoughts, memories, Scriptures, and even distractions rush in. This is the process of our minds filtering information and processing raw data, Knowledge of the Word begins to transition into revelation. Short prayers may not always allow for this deep saturation of the Word in our minds, but when we stay longer in prayer, our spirit has time to process, discern, and receive clarity.
Our persistence in prayer is also fueled by the Word. Without the Word, long prayers becomes empty repetition, that is if you manage to stay long, but when the Word guides us, our prayers are alive and powerful. Jesus said in John 15:7, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.” Staying long in prayer is really about abiding, letting the Word fill our hearts until it directs both our thoughts and our petitions. The Word gives us content to pray and boldness to persist.
Long prayers is also the bridge between knowing the Word and experiencing the Word. Many times, Scripture remains as knowledge in our minds until prayer makes it revelation in our hearts. Paul shows us this connection in Ephesians 6:17-18, where he says to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, “praying always with all prayer and supplication.” In other words, the Word becomes effective when we activate it in prayer. We see this in Acts 4:31: the disciples prayed until the words Jesus had spoken to them became tangible power, and the place was shaken with God’s presence.
In essence, praying long is not about stretching time for its own sake, but about staying long enough until the Word in us becomes consciousness and power. Short prayers have their place, but long prayers saturate us with the Word, filter our thoughts, and allow knowledge to crystallize into revelation.
~shalom
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