But when ye pray, do not use vain repetitions, as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking…. After this manner therefore pray ye, Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Matthew 6:7,9
It’s actually funny when we think about this: the Lord Jesus tells his disciples not to use vain repetitions in their prayers, like the heathen do. Then, two verses later, He introduces a prayer that has been most abused for vain repetition of anything in the realm of professing Christendom! Just about every time there is some sort of religious event, a funeral for example, conducted among the denominations, there is usually a general recital of what is commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer. The Catholics have made widespread use of this recital – which they call the Pater Noster if they do it in Latin – as part of their ritual. Other religious groups have done the same. Can’t they read? The Lord told them not to do it, and they ignore that to make themselves another meaningless rut to carryh themselves along the road of religion. But before we criticize them too much, let’s make sure we don’t fall into vain repetition in our prayers.
For the religious world, prayer is a ritual. If you can stand it, listen to a Catholic doing the Rosary thing sometimes. What is the value of parroting a prescribed prayer over and over? As our text says, they seem to think God will hear them if they say it enough times. But is that what God wants to hear from us? No, that’s not the Bible’s description of prayer. That’s not how people in the Bible prayed. And we read plenty of prayers in the Bible. There is emphatic and literary repetition in the prayers in the Psalms, but all with a purpose. The personal prayers of the Old Testament patriarchs are usually terse and to the point, as are the prayers we read in the New Testament. Fluff and repetition are absent. What possible purpose could they serve?
Little children are often taught to recite simple prayers with lots of repetition: blessings for all the family members and the pets, and anybody who happens to be important to life at that point. Sometimes, I think our petitions during our weekly Assembly prayer meetings are like that. We pray around a circle of selected items, and many of us parrot the same expressions as though they were required to capture God’s attention. That’s why it’s so refreshing to hear a newcomer pray, somebody who has not been in Assembly fellowship long. If prayer is simply talking to God, then that’s what we should do. Yes, it’s essential we be reverent and careful, but we don’t need to be stiff and ritualistic.
Vain repetitions are for others to listen to. God is not interested in that. Our prayers may well need repetition, but it’s for emphasis, not for show. -Jim MacIntosh