The Woman Who Prayed Too Much

By Jessica Edwards

Her name was Virginia Teeters. She was an older woman, and I knew her when I was young and we attended the same church. She was a dear friend to my grandma, and everyone who knew her loved her. 

She had only one major flaw... she liked to pray long prayers at Wednesday night prayer meetings. Some nights these prayers would last 20-30 minutes.

After the pastor was finished with his Bible study, we would split up into two or three- women with women and men with men- and pray together.

The women were very careful where they sat on Wednesdays, always marking where Virginia Teeters was sitting. We felt sorry for the unfortunate woman who was stuck having to pray with Mrs. Teeters. 

Some said it was inappropriate for Mrs. Teeters to pray that long at church. She needed to keep those long prayers for when she was in her prayer closet, but do you know what is interesting? I never heard Mrs. Teeters pray (No way was I going to get stuck with her!). She never put herself on display like a Pharisee or gave long testimonies in front of the congregation about her walk with Jesus.  She quietly did what she was supposed to be doing at a PRAYER meeting. 

I think of what the Psalmist says in Psalms 130:1-6.

"Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. 

If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? 

But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. 

I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. 

My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning."

Virginia Teeters knew how to cry out from the depths of her heart and wait on the Lord.

A Question For Us

What are you known for? What am I known for? Are we known as the woman who...

- talked too much?

- ate too much?

- complained too much?

- gossiped too much?

I want to be like Virginia Teeters. I want to be known and marked as the woman who prayed too much!

Jessica Edwards is a wife and homeschool mom who loves Jesus and His Word. She lives in the beautiful North Georgia mountains where you can find her hiking or trying to grow veggies in her vegetable garden.