“But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him…~ Matt. 14:30-31
There are times a short sentence prayer takes precedence over a more lengthy one. Especially in emergency situations, brevity is best. For example while on the Cross, whenever Jesus addressed His Father it was in a few words: “Father forgive them; for they know not what they do.” “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” and “Father into thy hands I commend my spirit.”
Certainly there is a time and place for regular unrushed prayers, but when you’re about to have an accident is not one of those times.
Again to cite our Lord's life, He prayed all night on one occasion; but it was only once, we are told. There is no reason to think otherwise. But in the garden His three prayers to the Father were held to a minimum of words.
I am not advocating as a rule short prayers, but you can’t rule them out. Some old divines believed many brief prayers throughout the day were to be chosen over one lone lengthy prayer, made only once in the day.
The story is told of the aged and godly Puritan who was retiring for the night. As he pulled the covers over him and before he blew out the candle he said, “Good night, Jesus.” When asked by a roommate, “Why so brief?” His answer, “Young man, when you have talked to God all day from the morning, there is nothing left to say at night.”
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So true!