May 13 - Meaningless Repetition: False Prayer Content

Grace to You.org ^ | 2008 | John MacArthur, Grace Community Church

[metmom]

“‘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).

If we’re honest, all of us have been guilty of repetitive prayers—before meals, at prayer meetings, before bed—with little or no thought to what we are saying or how God feels when He hears us do that. But such prayers are offensive to God and should be to us as well.

We should understand, however, that Jesus here is not forbidding the repetition of genuine requests. In His parable of the midnight visit, Jesus pointed to the persistent man as a model of the believer’s persistent prayer to God. In another parable, the Lord praised the godly widow’s persistence before the ungodly judge: “Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?” (Luke 18:7). Paul asked God three times to remove his thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7–8).

Jesus Himself could be persistent in prayer. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He pleaded, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39). Christ prayed this prayer a second time, and again He “prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more” (v. 44).

Sincere, honest repetition of needs and praises before God is not wrong or ineffective. It is the mindless, indifferent repeating of tired, cliché-filled “prayers” that is not pleasing to Him. God wants our hearts and our minds properly engaged when approaching His throne.

Ask Yourself

What would enliven your set times of prayer, transforming them into fresh, expressive, genuine moments with God? Even if the same words and requests are made, what could you do to make them real and in-the-moment?

[Carpe Cerevisi]

[Agamemnon]

I have found that praying scriptures that have been committed to heart allows one to pray from the heart. Quoting scripture is repetitive, yes, but the way I look at it the highest compliment that one may pay an Author is to quote them.

God invites us to remind Him of His promises to us. (Isaiah 43:26) Consider what follows on the basis of the fact that Christ said "I am with you always...." take that promise to mean that He stands with you as he has told us to stand (Ephesians 6) and as He fights the battle with "Principalities and Powers" on levels we don't know.

Recall the temptation of Christ by Satan in the wilderness. A portion of prayer that I make daily I begin with a quote for the Psalms:

"Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee [continuing in prayer based on that:] "Help me to remember Your Word at times I am tempted to sin, so that I do not sin, but instead let us resist the Devil so that he flees from us, and where You may show me that way of escape you have promised." (I Cor. 10:13)

That is just a portion of daily prayer that affirms Christ's promise of His abiding presence, that He is in the battle fighting Satan and giving us the resolve to resist the Devil so that he flees from us (James 4:7) - we do not need to think we are alone in that daily struggle, and there is that other assuring promise we claim that God will provide a way of escape from temptation if we allow Him to show us that way of escape and take advantage of that promise.

If one prays the Scriptures like this here and in other contexts with other scriptures that attend to those intercessions, one is not asking of God something He has not already promised to us (in fact it reminds us of His faithfulness), and praying in this way does not pray asking for something amiss (James 4:3).

FReegards!

[married21]

The new age-y or hindu “om” or trying to think of nothing is what is meaningless prayer. Even the words “lord, have mercy”, repeated over and over, have deep meaning, and are worthy prayers, if said attentively.

Also, I like the scripture quote, to the effect of, “when you can’t find the words, the Holy Spirit will give meaning to the utterances of your heart and convey them to the Father.” (I know, that is a wildly loose recollection of the verse, but it’s somewhere in the letters of Paul.)

[Craftmore]

So 5 Hail Marys and 5 Our Fathers wont obsolve me of my sins?

[steve86]

What does “obsolve” mean?

[Craftmore]

absolve,,,,sheese you’ve never had a spelling problem?

[Campion]

Wikipedia has an interesting discussion of this verse

[pbear8]

Absolution and penance are two separate acts.

[boatbums]

Absolution and penance are two separate acts.

Absolution is given AFTER the proper penance is made, right? What I never quite understood is how saying canned/rout prayers is supposed to be considered proper penance. Praying is punishment?

[Campion]

Not sure what "the proper penance is made" means. Absolution is given after the penance is assigned; the penitent then leaves and performs the penance on his own time.

Praying is punishment?

It's medicine.

[pbear8]

What Campion said.

Penance assigned can be a charitable act or something else, it is not always what is shown by Hollywood.

[boatbums]

Praying is punishment?

It's medicine.

Isn't it supposed to be:

Definition of penance (Entry 1 of 2)
1
: an act of self-abasement, mortification (see mortification sense 3), or devotion performed to show sorrow or repentance for sin
He did charitable work as a penance.

2
: a sacramental rite that is practiced in Roman, Eastern, and some Anglican churches and that consists of private confession, absolution, and a penance directed by the confessor (see confessor sense 3a)

3
: something (such as a hardship or penalty) resembling an act of penance (as in compensating for an offense) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/penance

Satisfaction

1459 Many sins wrong our neighbor. One must do what is possible in order to repair the harm (e.g., return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries). Simple justice requires as much. But sin also injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationships with God and neighbor. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused.62 Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must "make satisfaction for" or "expiate" his sins. This satisfaction is also called "penance."

1460 The penance the confessor imposes must take into account the penitent's personal situation and must seek his spiritual good. It must correspond as far as possible with the gravity and nature of the sins committed. It can consist of prayer, an offering, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, sacrifices, and above all the patient acceptance of the cross we must bear. Such penances help configure us to Christ, who alone expiated our sins once for all. They allow us to become co-heirs with the risen Christ, "provided we suffer with him."63

The satisfaction that we make for our sins, however, is not so much ours as though it were not done through Jesus Christ. We who can do nothing ourselves, as if just by ourselves, can do all things with the cooperation of "him who strengthens" us. Thus man has nothing of which to boast, but all our boasting is in Christ . . . in whom we make satisfaction by bringing forth "fruits that befit repentance." These fruits have their efficacy from him, by him they are offered to the Father, and through him they are accepted by the Father.64 http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a4.htm

Sorry, saying some canned prayers is a cop-out. Much like paying for an Indulgence is.

[Campion]

Sorry, saying some canned prayers is a cop-out.

Confessors can also require one to make amends or pay restitution to the victim of one's sin, etc. But that's often not appropriate. If I confess that I skipped saying my Morning Offering, why is saying some extra prayers not an appropriate act of "devotion performed to show sorrow for sin"? What do you do?

[boatbums]

The thread topic is about "Meaningless Repetition". In all the years I was a Roman Catholic, my only "penance" from Confession was to say a number of "Our Fathers" and "Hail Marys". Like I noted, it never seemed like it was appropriate to just say some canned prayers to make amends for the sins I had just confessed. I doubt I was alone in thinking that way.

How I do it now? I go directly TO my Heavenly Father - bypassing the middleman - if I have done wrong and I "name it like HE names it", not rationalizing or justifying why I sinned. He promises in His word that if I confess my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive me and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. If have committed a sin against someone else, I go to them, profess my contrition for my wrong and then ask for their forgiveness. If any restitution can be made, I will do it. But, even as a little kid, I remember thinking sin must not be that bad if all God wanted me to do was say a few prayers to forgive me - prayers I could recite in my sleep. It was after I understood the truth of the gospel that I realized the gravity of sin and but for the grace of God we would all be condemned for eternity. Knowing that I am saved has made me MORE sensitive to my faults and failures and it is the love of Christ that spurs me to live in holiness out of gratitude to God for His unspeakable gift.

[metmom]

No priest ever gave me a charitable act to do as penance, ever.

It was always praying and the worse the sin, the more prayers I had to do.

Yes, praying ends up being a punishment for sin and when the punishment is complete, then the sin is forgiven.

But that’s not grace nor forgiveness. It’s paying a debt and that cannot deal with sin because we cannot pay the debt we owe for our sin. The wages of sin is death and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Praying as an assigned obligation to receive the remission of the sin is ineffective according to God in Scripture because it’s not the right means.

[metmom]

The thread topic is about "Meaningless Repetition". In all the years I was a Roman Catholic, my only "penance" from Confession was to say a number of "Our Fathers" and "Hail Marys". Like I noted, it never seemed like it was appropriate to just say some canned prayers to make amends for the sins I had just confessed. I doubt I was alone in thinking that way.

You weren't.

God makes forgiveness easy....

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God doesn't make us jump through hoops to attain our forgiveness and He doesn't demand we *prove* how sorry we are for sin by performing acts.

Sorrow for sin results in repentance, which means turning from it. Just stopping doing the sin is enough to prove that you're sorry for it.