Do not use meaningless repetition
Matthew 6:7 - When you take time to pray, renew your relationship with God by praying with your heart.
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“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.”
Matthew 6:7 NASB1995
Today’s verse is from the words of Jesus, the part of the Sermon on the Mount just before He teaches the multitude the Lord’s Prayer. Barb did an excellent dive into the Sermon on the Mount over two years ago, but I thought I’d follow up with this examination of these words in the Gospel of Matthew.
To be honest, I have always been a little confused about Matthew 6:7, since following a liturgy — which is what many Christians do — is repetition of the same words (albeit from scripture) time after time. That’s one of the reasons I have personally been attracted to non-denominational Christian churches and intercessory prayer (praying on behalf of others). The needs of the people prayed for change constantly, so there’s no “meaningless repetition” going on.
In the context of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was calling against prayer that is nothing but words with no real meaning — as David Guzik put it on Enduring Word, “all lips and no mind or heart.” While Jesus was calling out the Gentiles in this prayer, “mindless repetition” was quite common in the Jewish temple and synagogues in His day. Some Jewish sayings of the time were “Whoever is long in prayer is heard,” with another being “Whenever the righteous make their prayer long, their prayer is heard.”
Jesus is saying that God isn’t impressed with long or eloquent prayers; He’d rather hear heartfelt pleas, thanks, and praise. 19th century biblical scholar Adam Clarke said it this way — “Prayer requires more of the heart than of the tongue. The eloquence of prayer consists in the fervency of desire, and the simplicity of faith.”1
Charles Spurgeon said it just as beautifully: “Christians’ prayers are measured by weight, and not by length. Many of the most prevailing prayers have been as short as they were strong.”2
I have to confess that even back in my years of disbelief, I used the Lord’s Prayer as a “meaningless repetition” when I was anxious or afraid. I would repeat it over and over again in my mind, almost as a mantra. But the anxiety was still there even after countless repetitions; now I know that God was not happy with the fact that I was not putting any heart or faith into what I was “praying”.
When I was a teenager and beginning to seriously question my Catholic upbringing, praying the rosary was (in my mind) the perfect example of meaningless repetition.
GotQuestions.org provided some excellent clarity into why rituals like praying the rosary are somewhat contrary to the teaching of Jesus:
There is no New Testament mandate to include recitations, ceremonial objects, or symbolic physical gestures in our worship today. Our devotion is to the Lord Jesus, not to various rituals or liturgies. True Christianity, as derived from accurate interpretation of the Bible, is not rules-based or ritual-based. Rather, it is relationship-based. The living God through Jesus has made those who believe in Christ His own children (John 1:12).
and also:
Are rituals wrong? No, not inherently. Empty ritual is wrong, as is any ritual that replaces, obscures, or detracts from a vibrant relationship with Christ. Are rituals commanded in the church? No, except for baptism and communion. God sees the heart, and He seeks those who worship Him “in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Rituals can be beneficial, but external rites should never be allowed to replace inner devotion.
If someone is simply reciting the prayers of the rosary by rote, they’re probably being ignored by God. If there is a deep, heartfelt faith behind each prayer, He is listening.
The Lord’s Prayer wasn’t meant to be something to repeat over and over again. Instead, it was a model of meaningful prayer. Jesus says in His preamble to the Lord’s Prayer: “This, then, is how you should pray” (NIV) or “Pray, then, in this way” (NASB95) or “In this manner, therefore, pray” (NKJV). He’s not telling the crowd to blindly repeat His prayer day after day; He is asking them to:
Praise God in Heaven (Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name)
Express our faith in the resurrection and eternal life (Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven)
Ask for those things that provide sustenance to our lives (Give us this day our daily bread)
Confess and repent, and pray for forgiveness of our sins (And forgive us our trespasses)
Live like Jesus, forgiving even those who would persecute or murder us (As we forgive those who trespass against us)
Ask for the Holy Spirit to guide us to righteousness (Lead us not into temptation)
Pray for protection from all of the evils that affect our lives (But deliver us from evil)
Those seven points are Jesus’s perfect model for Christian prayer. The next time you pray, renew your relationship with God by praying with your heart.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Lord, when I turn my thoughts to prayer, guide me to follow the model of supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, and confession that was taught to all believers by Your Son, Jesus. In the words of Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.” AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.
Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author
Clarke, Adam "Clarke's Commentary: The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments with a Commentary and Critical Notes" Volume 5 (Matthew-Acts) (New York: Eaton and Mains, 1832)
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "Commentary on Matthew: The Gospel of the Kingdom" (London: Passmore and Alabaster, Paternoster Buildings, 1893)