I play piano for church services every Sunday evening, and I always tell the congregation the history of the song. This past Sunday, I played a song that reminded me of the power of prayer and the many ways God has cared for me because of it—”How Long Has It Been” by Mosie Lister.

Mosie was a minister, a singer (most famously with the Statesman Quartet), and a composer. Many of his songs have become gospel classics because of both the beauty of the music and the powerful message he delivers in the lyrics. 

He says he wrote the lyrics for “How Long Has It Been” in ten minutes because he was on fire with the need to tell others about prayer. He grew up in a household where the family prayed together, and he started thinking. Do families still teach their children to pray? Is prayer still important to them? Do they still understand its power? How long has it been since anybody talked to God?

These lyrics flew from his pen:

How long has it been since you talked with the Lord

And told him your heart’s hidden secrets?

How long since you prayed? How long since you stayed 

On your knees till the light shone through?

How long has it been since your mind felt at ease?

How long since your heart knew no burden?

Can you call him your friend? How long has it been

           Since you knew that he cared for you?

How long has it been since you knelt by your bed

And prayed to the Lord up in Heaven?

How long since you knew that he’d answer you

And would keep you the long night through?

How long has it been since you woke with the dawn

And felt this day is worth living?

Can you call him your friend? How long has it been

Since you knew that he cared for you?

One of the most powerful prayers I ever prayed was also simple, three little words, God protect me. I wrote about it in a recent post here. Those three words were spoken as I left the pool at the aquatic center. Forty seconds later, I slipped and fell on the apron of the pool–BUT, a small rubber mat moderated the damage the concrete would have done to my face, and doctors say the towel I had slung around my neck that day (I usually hang it over my shoulder) kept it from breaking. 

Prayer. I won’t go a single day without it.

God is good.

 Peggy Webb