What is praying in vain repetitions?

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Hello, what is praying in vain repetitions?

I know that it is when we think that if we pray in repetitions a lot, God will hear you.

How about if we think that the more prayers we offer, the more God will help you?

Please tell me more about this.

Thank you
 
My 6:7 And when praying do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their many words.

In the same paragraph Jesus goes on and says “when you pray pray this” and gives us the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus also prays the same prayer three times in the garden. Was it “vain repetition” as the KJV translates?

Gentiles would make lengthy prayers to various gods to get their attention, for example as the false prophets did when Elijah mocked their prayer.

Jesus considers those long prayers devoid of faith and love for God. Are those spontaneous long prayers being done to be seen and heard? Or are they from love and faith?

Peace and God Bless
Nicene
 
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Formula1 said:
How about if we think that the more prayers we offer, the more God will help you?
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If you pray 10 or 100 sincere prayers, that may be beneficial. For one thing, you’re building your relationship with God through frequent conversation with him. For another, Jesus taught on the merits of persistent, sincere prayer.

Luke 18:1-8
The Parable of the Persistent Widow.
1 Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said,
2 “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
3 And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’
4 For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
5 because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.’”
6 The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
7 Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them?
8 I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
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Luke 11: 5-8
Further Teachings on Prayer.
5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
6 for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’
7 and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’
8 I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.
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If, on the other hand, you pray 10 or 100 insincere, vain prayers, then you’ve done vain repetitions.
It’s all about sincerity of prayer.

Protestants have chosen to focus on “repetitions” and ignore the “vain” part, which is silly given that they themselves repeat prayers; for example they often repeat words like “Father God” when doing freeform prayer, or say the Our Father regularly, which is a repetition.
 
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I used to read the term as if in the term “vain repetition” the first word is implied in the definition of the second, and added just for emphasis. Now I think it’s best to treat it like a normal adjective (i.e. describing a certain kind of repetition).
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Protestants have chosen to focus on “repetitions” and ignore the “vain” part, which is silly given that they themselves repeat prayers; for example they often repeat words like “Father God” when doing freeform prayer, or say the Our Father regularly, which is a repetition.
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This! 👍

Of course, those who complain are often the ones who don’t use formulaic prayer (even the Lord’s Prayer!), but instead consider it a kind of example or model for spontaneous prayer.

(Then again, they seem blissfully unaware that Jesus himself participated in repetitive prayer – what do they think that He was doing each and every time he went to synagogue to pray? That the congregation made it up brand-new each week?)

In any case, @Formula1, the thing that Jesus was warning about was largely using prayer superstitiously. The pagan practice he referenced was the practice of calling out to their deities with various titles and appellations, in the hopes of gaining power over the deity so that they’d do the will of the person praying.

Christians can fall into this superstitious trap, too. What matters isn’t the “number” of prayers, but where your heart is. Are you trying to make God do what you want done? Are you attempting to bend God’s will to yours, or are you attempting to bend your will into conformity with God’s? Authentic Christian prayer is the latter.
 
Praying in vain repetition has no thought behind the prayer. No substance. Just words.
 
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Formula1 said:
Hello, what is praying in vain repetitions?

I know that it is when we think that if we pray in repetitions a lot, God will hear you.

How about if we think that the more prayers we offer, the more God will help you?

Please tell me more about this.

Thank you
Click to expand...
I believe that the emphasis of this prohibition against “vain repetitions” lies in the word “VAIN”.

An example would be to say "If I ask God for one million dollars, by repeating “XYZ” one hundred times in prayer, I will receive it."

This is a little like witchcraft, where believers believe they can manipulate spirits to their advantage by repeated chants and incantations.

Our God is Sovereign! He cannot be manipulated by our vain repetitions.

I have met Protestants who mistakenly cite “vain repetitions” as something Catholics do in reciting the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

This is untrue! The Rosary is a veneration, a ritualized act of great prayerful reverence to Mary, the Mother of God. We do not expect direct, personal, material benefit from praying the Rosary. The Rosary is for benefit the world, the Church, ourselves, and those we love and seek Divine assistance for.
 
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