Few things bring more guilt and shame to many Christians than asking them about their prayer lives. We often think that we aren’t praying enough or long enough and we don’t know if we are using the right words. Crippled by insecurity and uncertainty, we just don’t do it at all. We may mutter a few “help me” or “bless this food” prayers every once in a while, but for many of us that is it and we feel we are missing the mark.

If that’s you, don’t worry. You are in good company! Martin Luther once wrote to his barber, “I will tell you as best I can what I do personally when I pray. May our dear Lord grant to you and to everybody to do it better than I! Amen.” – Martin Luther

So as we dive into this churchwide intentional season of prayer, let’s answer the two most common questions about prayer so we can relieve you of any guilt and shame.

How often should I pray?

There’s a two word verse that can easily cause us to throw up our hands and give up when it comes to prayer: “Pray constantly…” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) Great. But instead of throwing in our prayer towel, this verse should set us free to make prayer a regular part of our daily lives without worrying about doing it right. Praying constantly means having a posture of prayer and talking to God whenever and however you can. Sometimes Jesus prayed early in the morning (Mark 1:35), sometimes he prayed late at night (Mark 14:32). King David liked the night time prayers (Psalm 42:8; 63:6) and Daniel prayed three times a day (Daniel 6:10). There really is no perfect time of day to pray, so just pray.

How long should I pray?

One thing you will quickly notice in the Bible is that most recorded prayers are short. When asked how to pray, Jesus gives his disciples a lesson in brevity with a twenty second prayer (Matthew 6:8–13). Even his longest prayer clocks in at just under three minutes (John 17). Similarly, Moses spends four verses (roughly 20 seconds) praying before having the ten commandments etched in stone (Deuteronomy 9:26–29). The same brevity in prayer is true of Elijah (1 Kings 18:36–37), Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:5–11), and the Apostle Paul who prays really fast (Philippians 1:9–11; Colossians 1:9–12). Some of the prayers in the Psalms are pretty long, of course they were meant to be sung and there are few decent songs under a minute. Even Daniel’s passionate prayer of repentance for the nation of Israel was about a minute and a half (Daniel 9:4-19).

Can I pray longer? Of course! The nation of Israel once prayed for about three hours (Nehemiah 9:5-38) so knock yourself out. But know that there are no brownie points in heaven for long prayers. In fact, Jesus warned against relying on your many words when he said, “When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:7–8, CSB)

Martin Luther sums it up well when he writes,

To help you pray during the next 21 days, here’s a daily passage of scripture to base your prayer on and a few thoughts to get you started. You may want to set a specific time to pray each day or you may want to read this passage in the morning and reflect on it with short bursts of prayer throughout the day.

Download the full list below.