The whole church was starting to squirm and twist, Aunt Sadie was straightening her hat, Deacon Hunter was looking at his watch for the 10th time and even pastor Jones was thumbing through his Bible as if looking for something important. Uncle Silas Crabtree was praying the closing prayer and everybody in the church knew he just wasn't any hand to do that.
He could never seem to find a stopping place.
After preaching for over an hour the new pastor had called on him by mistake, one he wouldn't repeat anytime soon.
Uncle Silas and Aunt Sadie made quite a pair.   Aunt Sadie began pulling at his elbow and whispering for him to shut up, but Uncle Silas was lost in his prayer and just  kept going stronger than ever. Dooley and cousin Billy Clyde had worked themselves to the back of the building ready to bolt  for the door at the next amen.
The special “dinner on the ground”  in honor of the new pastor was waiting on the tables out under the big oak tree, while the ladies tried to mind the flies off with little green limbs pulled from the tree. Still Uncle Silas droned on and on with no end in sight.
Uncle Silas prayed long and wide.  He had gone 30 minutes long already but he was well known as a square man in prayer.  He  prayed 30 minutes long and 30 topics wide. 
He often started with the missionaries in Africa and closed with a special prayer for the healing of the bursitis in Aunt Sadie's  left elbow...the very same elbow she was now using to whack him in the side to get him to shut up.  Pastor Jones  cleared his throat and said thank you God. 
One of the little kids had learned to anticipate the  end of  a closing prayer and to yell out amen before the one praying had a chance.  He mistook this for his sign to say amen and yelled it out loud and clear.
Deacon Hunter had been waiting for  an opening and quickly joined the kid with  three loud amens of his own and the race for dinner was on, with Dooley and Billy Clyde leading the way and the new preacher right on their heels.  Uncle Silas came on later after he finished his prayer
Praying is a great and wonderful thing for all to do, and Uncle Silas wasa good man to have praying for you in a time of special need.
Having said this, let me add that good praying is not measured by length or width, but rather by depth and height  A  prayer should come from the very bottom of our heart and reach all the way to the top of the throne of God.