RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2020-11-30	What Does It Mean To Use Vain Repetitions in Prayer (Mt.6:7)
		Mat 6:7  And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. At the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gave instruction concerning prayer. One of the elements of prayer is to not use “vain repetitions”. The word “vain” means “empty” or “useless”. Jesus is warning us to not repeat worthless phrases in prayer to God. To do so will not help us to be heard by God. We could say, God is not interested in “word count” or flowery expressions in our prayer toward Him. Jesus points out that the use of repetitious words is the practice of heathen religions. It should not be so for Christian prayer. Remember Elijah prayed to God in a simple and short expression from the heart (1Ki.18:25-39). In contrast, the prophets of Baal prayed a prolonged and repetitious babbling of words. When we are praying we are talking to God. It is like a conversation from the heart. There are certain groups in Christendom who have rote prayers they repeat over and over again. Some even require members to recite certain prayers a certain number of times for the purpose of absolving sin. This is pagan, and should have no place in the church (He.10:10). As God's children we can approach the throne of grace boldly based on the merit of Christ's sacrifice (He.4:15-16). In fact, many cite what they call the Lord's Prayer, which is our context here. Jesus does not intend for believers to recite this instructive prayer, which makes it vain repetition. This instruction is really for those who do not know how to pray. This is prayer 101. The idea is to learn from it as a model, but not to simply repeat it. Those who simply repeat this instructive prayer are in practice not talking to God. At best, they are admitting they do not know how to talk to God, so they simply repeat and rely on these words. This may be fine for a new believer. But it certainly should not be repeated by mature believers. Having said that, it is easy for believers to be caught up in various forms of repetition. For example, repeating the same words, instead of thinking about our words from the heart, can become a vain repetition. We should focus on God in prayer. After all, we are talking to Him. Isaiah said, “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me” (Is.29:13). Repeating things fills time, but does not prove devotion to God, or increase our chances of being heard. Being persistent in prayer is not the same as using vain repetitions. There is nothing wrong with praying for the same thing more than once (2Co.12:8). Jesus taught persistence in prayer is important (Lk.18:1). Luk 18:1  Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart Our prayer must be from the heart and spontaneous, not repeating words written by someone else. We certainly can read someone's written prayer for instructive purposes, but it should not take the place of our heart-felt conversation with God. Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

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