📖 Biblical Definition
The Amidah (Hebrew "standing") is the central prayer of Jewish daily liturgy — eighteen (originally) or nineteen blessings prayed standing, three times daily (morning, afternoon, evening), still practiced in synagogue Judaism. It includes praise of God (the first three blessings), petitions for daily needs and national restoration (the middle thirteen), and thanksgiving (the last three). Christ’s rebuke of the Pharisees who "love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men" (Matthew 6:5) probably refers to ostentatious public Amidah-praying — not the prayer itself but its weaponized display. He gave His disciples a shorter, simpler model: the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13).
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
(Hebrew, ‘standing’.) The central prayer of Jewish daily liturgy, prayed standing three times daily.
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Compiled in its earliest forms during the Second Temple period; codified after the temple's destruction in 70 AD. Originally eighteen blessings (the Shemoneh Esreh); a nineteenth was added later.
Three-fold structure: three opening blessings of praise, intermediate petitions (varying by occasion), three closing blessings of thanksgiving. The Lord's Prayer shares this shape in compressed form.
📖 Key Scripture
Daniel 6:10 — "He kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God."
Acts 3:1 — "Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour."
Luke 18:11 — "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself."
1 Thessalonians 5:17 — "Pray without ceasing."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern Christianity has lost most fixed-hour prayer; recovering even simplified form deepens the household's rhythm.
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Daniel's three-times-daily prayer (Dan 6:10) is the Old Testament prototype. The early church inherited the rhythm: the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour (Acts 3:1) is one of three named daily hours.
The household need not adopt Jewish liturgy to recover the principle: a brief structured prayer at morning, midday, and evening anchors the day in God's presence. The Anglican Daily Office, the Catholic Liturgy of the Hours, and Reformed family worship all preserve versions of the rhythm.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew amidah — standing.
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Hebrew amidah — standing; the prayer prayed in standing posture.
Note: also called Shemoneh Esreh, the Eighteen, after its original count of blessings.
Usage
"Three times daily — Daniel's rhythm, the early church's rhythm."
"Brief structured prayer at morning, midday, evening anchors the day."
"Lord's Prayer shares the Amidah's shape in compressed form."