October 1, 2025.
Did Jesus have you and me in mind when He said, “In praying, don’t use vain repetitions as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking” (Matt. 6:7)?
Repetition
Life is full of repetitions, including in prayer. Jesus in Gethsemane “prayed a third time, saying the same words” (Matt. 26:44). Paul told the brethren he was “night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face” (1 Thess. 3:10). Jesus “spoke a parable to them that they must always pray and not give up… Won’t God avenge his chosen ones who are crying out to him day and night?” (Luke 18:1-7). If you thank God for your food three times daily – over 1,000 times a year – you surely repeat yourself big time.
When Jesus spoke of vain repetition, we are likely to think of those who repeat memorized phrases over and over – the rosary and Muslim prayers. Yes, but what about ourselves? Do we ever vainly repeat in prayer?
Repeating Without Thinking
I have sometimes (too often) caught myself singing a well-known song – singing the words perfectly while thinking about something else. Sound familiar? And sometimes we do that in prayer. It doesn’t have to be a memorized prayer; it can simply be our own statements that we frequently repeat in prayer. They can easily flow from our mouths when our minds are somewhere else. That certainly is vain repetition. We may be repeating “right” words but with little or no reflection on what we are saying.
Some parents teach their kids to memorize, “Now I lay me down to sleep,” etc. Does that teach a child how to pray? If you think about it, that can hinder the child from learning to pray. Prayer is talking to our Father from our mind and heart. It seems to me that helping a child to pray ten words from the heart is far better than teaching them to repeat one hundred words from memory.
Years ago, I learned of a brother who, right after being baptized into Christ, asked for a copy of the church’s Prayer Book. When asked why he made such a request, the new Christian replied that the brother who prayed at the Lord’s table prayed the identical prayer every Sunday, so he figured it came from a prayer book!
Meaningless Repetition
The so-called “Lord’s Prayer” comes just one verse after Jesus’ rebuke of vain repetitions. Surely, when He said, “Pray like this,” He was not giving us something to memorize and repeat over and over. Rather, He was giving us suggestions of some of the elements of meaningful prayer.
“Give us today our daily bread.” Really? What vain meaningless repetition for most of us in the USA most of the time. With fridge and pantry full, a more meaningful prayer would be, “Thank you, Lord, for the great abundance of food we have every day.”
Then there is the phrase “Let your kingdom come.” A very meaningful petition when Jesus gave us that example of prayer. Should we pray today about Jesus’ Kingdom? Absolutely. But not that it would come. It already came days after Jesus left this world. How much do you pray for Kingdom matters today?
Have you ever heard a prayer including these three phrases: “Father in heaven… thank you for dying on the cross… in Jesus’ name, Amen”? Absolutely, these are three good phrases. Yet, in context, is not the middle phrase false and thus vain? The person praying has absentmindedly forgotten he is talking to the Father, not the Son.
Suggestions Before We Eat
An unavoidable place for repetition is giving thanks before we eat. Here are some suggestions that help me to keep my mind and heart engaged. Maybe something here can be of help to you:
1 – Include thanks for something beside the food.
2 – Include praise, requests, and/or other things beside thanks.
3 – Make an effort to phrase the prayer differently.
The point is – by whatever means – to nudge ourselves to have our minds and hearts fully connected to our mouths. Similar ideas can be applied to all prayers. We don’t want to mindlessly spew out platitudes (aka vain repetitions).