Some help here, anyone?
I read this on Tuesday but have had no success at tracking
down the original quote on the web (and since Wesley died in 1791, it’s
unlikely I’ll be able to get it from the horse’s mouth):
“John Wesley said that he had a very poor opinion of Christians who did not spend at least 4 hours every day in prayer.”
I found a number of quotes from Wesley on the importance of
prayer (some good stuff there too) but nothing first-hand about the amount of daily
time he deemed appropriate. Wikipedia, while providing a bio, was no help
either. The closest I could find was this, from micahcobb.com: “John Wesley
used to say that he thought very little of a man who did not pray four hours
every day.” Slightly different wording, no direct attribution, no book reference,
nothing to follow up, but perhaps it was the source for the quote I read on
Tuesday.
This site referenced another called arminiantoday.com, which
amplifies a bit: “We all have probably heard the stories of how John Wesley
would rise up at 4 AM every day to seek God for the first four hours of the
day. In his later years Wesley was known to spend up to 8 hours in
prayer.”
Huh. “Stories.” Okay, not much help there.
I’ve found a number of references to Wesley praying two
hours a day, and a number to his mother doing so. But no direct confirmation in
Wesley’s own words that he prayed four hours a day regularly or thought ill of
those who didn’t. Other than stories, of course. It may well be true, and I
just haven’t been able to confirm it.
It may be utter hogwash.
Why does it matter how long John Wesley prayed daily or what
he thought about prayer?
It doesn’t, really. Except …
