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, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Matthew 6:7-8
Payer is intimate soul conversation with God. It isn’t rote religious ritual. It isn’t about mindless repetition. It isn’t about following some prescribed formula to gain access to answers. That’s what pagans did according to Jesus. They repeated the names of their gods over and over to appease the deity’s egos. They prayed memorized prayers rapidly, repeatedly, often with a talisman in hand to physically feel themselves repeating a prayer a specific number of times or in rhythmic sequence. So any religious system that tells you to repeat prescribed penitent prayers for a specific number of times to appease deity or atone for a wrong is utterly pagan according to our Lord.
Jesus says to talk to the Father. He is already intimately concerned about us. He knows what we need before we ask, so our prayers aren’t about magical persuasion. They are about entering into worship, submission, gratefulness, and awe of the God Who knows us and cares for us. This is so much deeper than pagan ritualistic thinking. It is so much richer than Pharisaical show-making. This is soul intimacy with our soul’s Creator. He loves to engage in that conversation!
Take into account John Calvin on why we pray:
Believers do not pray with the view of informing God about things unknown to Him, or of exciting Him to do His duty, or of urging Him as though He were reluctant. On the contrary, they pray in order that they may arouse themselves to seek Him, that they may exercise their faith in meditating on His promises, that they may release themselves from their anxieties by pouring them into His arms; in a word, that they may declare that from God alone they hope and expect, both for themselves and for others, all good things.
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