“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them“ (Matthew 6:7-8a, ESV)
The previous devotion considered the issue of repetition in prayer. Yet this teaching brings up a question? Does the teaching that we should not use many words in our prayers conflict with the principle of persistence in prayer? That is, should we pray regarding something one time and then never pray for the same thing again?
To answer this question, we will look at another of Jesus’ teachings on prayer. In Luke 18:1-7, He presented a parable, which taught the disciples to be persistent in prayer. It is a parable about a widow and a judge who would not give her correct justice regarding an adversary. Jesus explained that it was because she persistently came before the judge that he gave her justice. John in his preface to this parable explained its purpose.
“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.“ (Luke 18:1, ESV)
Jesus clearly taught that we should be persistent in prayer. If we are to be persistent in prayer, how do we reconcile the teaching of Jesus regarding not using “many words”?
Remember, as mentioned in the previous devotion, the Greek word, battologeo, refers to stammering, repeating the same things over and over, using many idle words, babbling (Strong, G945). The words the ESV translates as “empty phrases” is translated, “vain repetitions” in the KJV. The concept goes beyond the mere repeating of words to mean empty repetition. In other words, this refers to the repetition of phrases without substance. We might substitute the word gibberish or the phrase, “babble not” for “empty phrases.” Thus, the Lord did not forbid believers from saying the same prayers persistently but taught against repeating empty words in a superstitious way.
Many religions today do exactly what the Lord forbids, including Hindu and Mohammedan followers. Even Christians can fall into this error by reciting written prayers over and over without pertinent application. Believers can even use what has been titled as “The Lord’s Prayer,” in this way.
We must remember that what we call “The Lord’s Prayer,” was a model that Jesus used to teach believers how to pray. While it is not wrong to recite “The Lord’s Prayer,” it is meaningless for people to recite it without considering the depth of what they are saying.
Yet Jesus’ focus in presenting these words was, in a sense, to outline the content that should be included in the believer’s prayer and to ensure key principles of prayer are not forgotten.
In summary, we must be persistent in prayer. Yet in our persistence, we must not heap up empty words without meaning.
Renewing the Heart 