What was the Qumran communitys attitude toward prayer?
Similar to other Jewish groups of the period, the Qumran community prayed regularly. According to David Rolph Seely, “Prayer could be offered at any time, in any place, in any circumstance, and at Qumran there were also set times for regular prayer in the morning and in the evening. The Community Rule specifies prayer when the light of day first appears in the morning and when it disappears in the evening.”61 A hymn located at the end of the Community Rule describes the beautiful attitude that the Qumran community held toward prayer: When I stretch out hand and foot I will praise his name. When I go out and come in, sit and rise, and when laid on my couch, I will cry for joy to him. I will praise him with the offering of the utterance of my lips in the row of men, and before I lift my hand to enjoy the delights of the world’s produce. In the beginning of terror and dread, and in the abode of affliction and distress I will bless him for (his) exceedingly wondrous activity. I will medita
