Fixed Prayer Times

Fixed prayer times, praying at dedicated times during the day, are common practice in major world religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Judaism

Jewish law requires Jews to pray thrice a day; the morning prayer is known as Shacharit, the afternoon prayer is known as Mincha, and the evening prayer is known as Maariv. According to Jewish tradition, the prophet Abraham introduced Shacharit, the prophet Isaac introduced Mincha, and the prophet Jacob introduced Maariv. Jews historically prayed in the direction of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, where the "presence of the transcendent God (''shekinah'') esidedin the Holy of Holies of the Temple". In the Bible, it is written that when the prophet Daniel was in Babylon, he "went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open to Jerusalem; and he got down upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously" (cf. ). After its destruction, Jews continue to pray facing Jerusalem in hope for the coming of the Messiah whom they await.

Christianity

From the time of the early Church, the practice of seven fixed prayer times have been taught. In '' Apostolic Tradition'', Hippolytus instructed Christians to pray seven times a day, "on rising, at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight" and "the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion." Christians attended two liturgies on the Lord's Day, worshipping communally in both a morning service and evening service, with the purpose of reading the Scriptures and celebrating the Eucharist. Throughout the rest of the week, Christians assembled at the church every day for morning prayer (which became known as ''lauds'') and evening prayer (which became known as ''vespers''), while praying at the other fixed prayer times privately; Christian monastics came to gather together to corporately pray all of the canonical hours communally. This practice of seven fixed prayer times was done in the bodily positions of prostration and standing, which continues today in some Christian denominations, especially those of Oriental Christianity.

Oriental Orthodox Christians (such as Copts, Armenians, Syriacs and Indians), as well certain Oriental Protestant denominations (such as the Mar Thoma Syrian Church), use a breviary such as the Agpeya and Shehimo to pray the canonical hours seven times a day while facing in the eastward direction, in anticipation of the Second Coming of Jesus; this Christian practice has its roots in , in which the prophet David prays to God seven times a day. In the Indian Christian and Syriac Christian tradition, these canonical hours are known as Vespers ( Ramsho pm, Compline (Soutoro pm, Nocturns (Lilio 2 am, Matins (Sapro am, third hour prayer ( Tloth sho`in am, sixth hour prayer ( Sheth sho`in 2 pm, and ninth hour prayer ( Tsha' sho`in pm. In the Coptic Christian and Ethiopian Christian tradition, these seven canonical hours are known as the First Hour (Prime am, the Third Hour (Terce am, the Sixth Hour ( Sext 2 pm, the Ninth Hour ( None pm, the Eleventh Hour (Vespers pm, the Twelfth Hour (Compline pm, and the Midnight office 2 am monastics pray an additional hour known as the Veil. Church bells are tolled at these hours to enjoin the faithful to Christian prayer. Those who are unable to pray the canonical hour of a certain fixed prayer time may recite the ''Qauma'', in the Indian Orthodox tradition.

In Western Christianity and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, the practice of praying the canonical hours at fixed prayer times became mainly observed by monastics and clergy, though today, the Catholic Church encourages the laity to pray the Liturgy of the Hours and in the Lutheran Churches and Anglican Communion, breviaries such as The Brotherhood Prayer Book and the Anglican Breviary, respectively, are used to pray the Daily Office; the Methodist tradition has emphasized the praying of the canonical hours as an "essential practice" in being a disciple of Jesus, with the Order of Saint Luke, a Methodist religious order, printing ''The Book of Offices and Services'' to serve this end.

Many Christians have historically hung a Christian cross the eastern wall of their houses, which they face during these seven fixed prayer times. Before praying, Oriental Orthodox Christians and Oriental Protestant Christians wash their hands, face and feet in order to be clean before and present their best to God; shoes are removed in order to acknowledge that one is offering prayer before a holy God. In these Christian denominations, and in many others as well, it is customary for women to wear a Christian headcovering when praying.

Mandaeism

Daily prayer in Mandaeism called ''brakha'' consists of a set prayers that are recited three times per day. Mandaeans stand facing north while reciting daily prayers. Unlike in Islam and Coptic Orthodox Christianity, prostration is not practiced.

Mandaean priests recite rahma prayersLidzbarski, Mark. 1920. ''Mandäische Liturgien''. Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, phil.-hist. Klasse, NF 17.1. Berlin. three times every day, while laypeople also recite the ''Rushma'' (signing prayer) and '' Asiet Malkia'' ("Healing of Kings") daily.

The three prayer times in Mandaeism are:Drower, Ethel Stefana. 1937. ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran''. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.

*dawn (sunrise)
*noontime (the "seventh hour")
*evening (sunset)

Islam

Muslims pray five times a day, with their prayers being known as Fajr (dawn), Dhuhr (after midday), Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (sunset), Isha (nighttime), facing towards Mecca. The direction of prayer is called the qibla; the early Muslims initially prayed in the direction of Jerusalem before this was changed to Mecca in 624 CE, about a year after Muhammad's migration to Medina.

The timing of the five prayers are fixed intervals defined by daily astronomical phenomena. For example, the Maghrib prayer can be performed at any time after sunset and before the disappearance of the red twilight from the west. In a mosque, the muezzin broadcasts the call to prayer at the beginning of each interval. Because the start and end times for prayers are related to the solar diurnal motion, they vary throughout the year and depend on the local latitude and longitude when expressed in local time. In modern times, various religious or scientific agencies in Muslim countries produce annual prayer timetables for each locality, and electronic clocks capable of calculating local prayer times have been created. In the past, some mosques employed astronomers called the ''muwaqqit''s who were responsible for regulating the prayer time using mathematical astronomy.

Baháʼí Faith

Followers of the Baháʼí Faith must choose either a short, medium, or long prayer each day to fulfill the requirement of the daily obligatory prayer. Reciting these prayers is considered one of the Baháʼí's most important obligations. The short prayer can only be said between noon and sunset, while the medium prayer must be said three times during the day: once between sunrise and noon, once between noon and sunset, and once in the two hours following sunset. The long prayer is not bound by a fixed prayer time. The text of these prayers is taken from the writings of the religion's founder, Baháʼu'lláh.

Sikhism

Initiated Sikhs are obligated to perform five daily prayers at varying times during the day, from the collection of Nitnem prayers. In the morning, typically right after waking and bathing, the Japji Sahib, Jaap Sahib, and Tav Prasad Savaiye prayers are recited. In the evening, the Sodar Rahras Sahib is recited, and before bed the Kirtan Sohila is recited.

See also

* Ad orientem
* Awgatha
*Breviary
* Buddhist devotion
*Cetiya
* Cantharus
*Cross necklace
* Direction of prayer
* Daily devotional
* Mealtime Prayer
* Home altar
*Hygiene in Christianity
* Jingxiang
*Prayer book

Notes

References

Further reading

*
*{{cite book, title=The Hours , date=2022 , publisher=Apostolic Faith Books

External links

Shehimo - Indian Orthodox Christian prayer timesAgpeya - Coptic Christian prayer timesSalah - Islamic prayer timesIslamic prayer times calculator worldwide

Jewish practices
Christian prayer
Salah
Time in religion