Vain Repetitions

Yeshua (Jesus) warned His disciples not to pray with babbling words like pagans: “Do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7). Today’s Gospel readers often understand the warnings against “meaningless repetitions” as an indictment against the liturgical prayers of the synagogue and Temple. Liturgical prayer, by definition, contains patterns of repetition in which the same prayers recur. Remember that the Lord was an observant Jew. He also would have said these same prayers….the prayers of His ancestors. He and his disciples attended the synagogue every Sabbath, and they joined the worshippers in the Temple every time they were in Jerusalem. Jewish liturgy was a regular part of their worship experience. When Yeshua warned his disciples not to pray using “meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do,” He must have been aware of their pagan worship practices.

The Master did not speak against the Jewish mode of prayer. He said, “Do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do,” i.e., the idolaters. When Yeshua warned his disciples not to pray as Gentiles did, He was speaking about how these pagan people using meaningless repetitions in hopes of reaching their god with special requests. Most pagans went to a temple of particular god or goddess, depending on what they wanted….such as a fertility issue or a victory in battle. They might pay the priest or priestess to intercede for them in order to incur the favor of the Gods or even provide him/her with an omen that would foretell the future. All of which is condemned in scripture. Many of them would scream or shout at their God or babble in a type of hypnotic state. Women priestesses were known to scream and shout pulling their long hair……Perhaps this is what Paul meant by women keeping silent in the churches! We need to know the historical context of the time in which Paul was writing.

Many religions use various forms of prayer to reach their “Higher Power”. We, as Gentile believers, must also be careful that our prayers are not a type of formulae that we have heard over and over. I have attended worship services where I know exactly what the person praying is going to say! I often wished he would just pray from his heart and not worn-out phrases that seem to reach no higher than the ceiling!

I have read a Jewish prayer book. They extol the power and majesty of God and less on personal wants and desires. Our public prayers are different than our private prayers. Our public prayers are offered as a community of faith. Yes, we are to pray for our brothers and sisters in need of healing or facing dangers; for our missionaries or for special requests because we pray as a group of believers. Remember when Peter was miraculously released from prison while the believers were praying for him? (Acts 12: (6-19).

Paul warns his Gentile converts to be careful when praying in the worship service. (1 Cor. 14:34). They had received the gifts of prophecy, tongues and healings but they must use these gifts wisely….not babbling like their pagan friends. Every gift should be used to build up the congregation. Although their gift of tongues was valued, it could be abused in public so that the congregation would not be edified. Their community of faith would then hold together, and strengthen their bonds of fellowship. Despite the fears of oppression from both from the Romans and the majority of the Jewish community, they would stand firm even to the point of death!

However, Paul did tell them that their private prayers were between themselves and God and speaking in tongues would edify themselves and provide encouragement for them to live a life worthy of their calling as disciples.

Our private prayer time also is more for personal problems that face us. Not only do we do we remember those with special needs but our private prayers include requests about decisions facing us in our everyday life. Our prayer time is a special time between us and the God who loves us. Some prayers are indeed…. our private discussions with God. He knows the heart.

The Master warned His disciples against the pagan customs of chanting mantras or repeating a particular liturgical refrain or chorus over and over to achieve a spiritual effect. New Testament scholars believe that Yeshua was referring to the formulaic repetition of either intelligible or unintelligible names of gods, magic words, ecstatic utterances, and petition formulas common in the pagan Roman world. I also read where many of the ancients use hallucinating drugs to get their minds in an altered state in order to communicate with a particular god or goddess. Remember the days of people using LSD?

The Master told His disciples that they do not need to rely on gimmicks to get God’s attention.  “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” (Matthew 6:8). We can pray with complete confidence that our simplest prayers are heard and received by God.