Looooong Prayers!

by BigJ 26 Replies latest jw experiences

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  blondie

  The longest prayer I remember is Knorr's, at the 1964 Pasadena, CA international convention...I think it was like 15 minutes: but I was only 12 years old, and I was tired, sweaty and hungry--so it seemed like an hour. LOL

  Wasn't that 1963, onacruse? If so, I was there and I remember it. Was that Knorr or Fred Franz? What the diff, eh? We had already left for the car and missed it. Yay!

  Blondie
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  joenobody

  I too remember some excruciatingly long prayers especially at the district conventions. I remember as I got older thinking it was haughty and for show that they would have such lengthy prayers.

  Something else I grew tired of as well was the tired routine of "let's bring in all the ethnic brothers for the last song". It was fun the first time, ok the second, and pretty tiresome after that. I also hated the constant clapping.
• 

  Scully

  joenobody writes:

  Something else I grew tired of as well was the tired routine of "let's bring in all the ethnic brothers for the last song". It was fun the first time, ok the second, and pretty tiresome after that.

  I know this was very disrespectful of me to do this, but I used to hum "It's a Small World" whenever that particular parade started.

  Love, Scully
• 

  New Castles

  God Yes!

  There was this very old brother and they asked him to do the prayer alot (I guess cause of his age). YOu could never understand what he was saying, and he always took forever. I swear I once fell asleep halfway through the prayer!
• 

  zugzwang

  I don't know if it is true but I was told that the concluding prayer of the 1958 International convention was over 40 minutes long! I wonder if the brother got to count that time as a public talk?
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  franklin J

  ....pompous asses who like to hear themselves talk....
• 

  HadEnuf

  Most of our elders would give what I would call "mini-talks" in their prayers or just summarize the whole meeting.

  Snoooooooooooooooooozzze City.

  Good riddance!
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  joenobody

  Hee hee Scully! That's hilarious - if I had known that then, I wouldn't have been able to keep from laughing.
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  blondie

  The WTS speaking out of both sides of their mouth:

  *** w99 1/15 16 Lift Up Loyal Hands in Prayer ***

  
  Suppose we are privileged to represent a family in prayer before a meal. Such a prayer could be fairly short?but whatever is said should include an expression of gratitude for the food. If we are praying publicly before or after a Christian meeting, we do not need to offer a long prayer covering many points. Jesus criticized the scribes who ?made long prayers for a pretext.? (Luke 20:46, 47) Never would a godly person want to do that.

  (except)

  At times, though, a somewhat longer public prayer may be appropriate. For instance, an elder chosen to say the final prayer at an assembly should give it advance thought and may desire to mention several points. Yet, even such a prayer should not be of excessive length. (what's excessive???)

  *** w87 7/15 12 How Meaningful Are Your Prayers? ***

  
  We should not want to memorize certain words and just repeat them each time we pray; neither should it be necessary for a witness of Jehovah to read his prayer, as at a public assembly . (They read their prayers!!!!!)

  *** w86 5/15 23 Praying Before Others With a Humble Heart ***

  
  Hence, there is no rule about how long a public prayer should be. But there is no special virtue in long prayers. In fact, Jesus criticized the scribes who ?devoured the houses of the widows and for a pretext made long prayers .? (Luke 20:46, 47) Prayers on behalf of others should clearly mention their circumstances or needs and should be of a length appropriate to the occasion. We do not need to offer long, rambling prayers covering many unrelated points. When giving thanks for a meal, a prayer could be quite short. A prayer opening a Christian meeting does not have to be long either. The one representing a family at the beginning or the end of the day, or the one concluding an assembly in prayer, may wish to cover more points that are appropriate to the occasion .
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  shotgun

  Is that when you earned yout title of BigJ

  Yup, I really miss those public discourses disguised as a prayer!