the Week of Proper 23 / Ordinary 28
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!
Bible Encyclopedias
Hours of Prayer
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
The Mosaic law did not regulate the offering of prayer, but fully recognized its spontaneous character. In what manner or how far back in Jewish history the sacrificial prayer, mentioned in Luke 1:10 , originated no one knows. In the days of Christ it had evidently become an institution. But ages before that, stated hours of prayer were known and religiously observed by all devout Jews. It evidently belonged to the evolutionary process of Jewish worship, in connection with the temple-ritual. Devout Jews, living at Jerusalem, went to the temple to pray (Luke 18:10; Acts 3:1 ). The pious Jews of the Diaspora opened their windows "toward Jerus" and prayed "toward" the place of God's presence (1 Kings 8:48; Daniel 6:10; Psalm 5:7 ). The regular hours of prayer, as we may infer from Psalm 55:17 and Daniel 6:10 , were three in number. The first coincided with the morning sacrifice, at the 3rd hour of the morning, at 9
These files are public domain and were generously provided by the folks at WordSearch Software.
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. Entry for 'Hours of Prayer'. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​isb/​h/hours-of-prayer.html. 1915.