Looooong Prayers!

by BigJ 26 Replies latest jw experiences

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  BigJ

  Ok, who remembers all those long prayers? Especially at the District Conventions!

  We had our convetions at a small hockey arena and the stairs were really steep. After standing there with your eyes closed for many minutes and then looking down I usually felt tipsy.

  One time I was working for the trucking department and our job was to start tearing down all the equipment as soon as the closing prayer was over. The brother in charge stressed that it was so important to start immediately that he said we should go to the washroom and change during the song so we would be prepared. Well here I was in the bathroom stall changing and I had just taken off my pants when the song ended and they started the prayer.... it was a long one.... I stood there in my underwear for 8 minutes!!!
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  shamus

  LOL!

  Too funny! I remember the same thing..l. not the underwear thing though. The stairs were very steep, and the chairs were at a steep angle. I just hated it.

  The last prayer of the day was a killer. It was like "jehover, please bless the butterflies, the worms of the sea, the little maggots who eat your enemies..." I mean, palease. We used to joke about it all the time.

  Welcome to the forum, BTW! Lots of people here are from Ontario!
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  gitasatsangha

  encoding highlights from the talk into the prayer was the ultimate hubris. "Dear Creator, we've been going over some things that were enlightening to us, and they'll probably help you too!"
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  indoubt

  I always found the long prayers inconsiderate, especially for parents with young kids.

  Even at a young age my kids knew that the prayer at the end of a day was the last "step" before the convention was over.

  After 3-4 long and grueling days of sitting in a over-heated arena, you can imagine that an 8 minutes prayer was way too much for them, and for us!! They would usually start crying at the 3rd or 4th minute. At that point, I was letting them cry as much as they wanted, even hoping they started crying louder...

  indoubt
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  micheal

  I actually timed a prayer at one district assembly.

  11 MINUTES LONG!!!!!!!!!
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  onacruse

  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

  Craig
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  mrs rocky2

  I remember a CO poking fun at the long prayers some would make before meals....'bless the temple once, bless the temple twice' and so forth. Seems like some of those long convention prayers were to 'bless the faithful slave once, bless them twice....' Glad I don't have to put up with it anymore! Think I would gag or pass out with all the blessing for something so blasphemous.
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  El blanko

  It is hard to judge the motivation of a person who feels the need to stand publically before an audience and make a prayer last for over a minute. My personal view of prayer is that it is a private affair, a one to one between yourself and your maker.
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  got my forty homey?

  I remember one brother whose prayers weren't so long but he would put on such a show of humility and reverence to Jehovah that you had to just peek at this guys public exibition of foolishness. It looked like a little rascal begging the mean foster home father to have no more gruel for breakfast.
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  Roddy

  Somehow a GB member would have to say a long prayer - which was annoying.

  I didn't appreciate long prayers for mealtimes. By the time the brother finished the hot meal cooled off.

  Neither did I appreciate brothers who would use prayer time to rehash the talk just given, the assembly, the Watchtower article, etc etc.