the Fourth Week after Easter
Daily Devotionals
Grace for Today
Matthew 6:7
‘Use not vain repetitions’
Read Matthew 6:1-15
Our Lord does not forbid the use of repetition in prayer. In fact, he teaches us that a man whose heart is heavy and burdened ought to use importunity in pleading with God (Luke 11:8-10). That which is forbidden is the use of ‘vain repetition' the use of words without meaning.
Do you find yourself, when you are praying, either in public or in private, using the same words and phrases? Asking for the same things? Saying the same things? Praying without really thinking about what you are saying? I am afraid that many people might just as well use a tape recorder as their tongues when they pray. Others use pretty words and phrases that impress men. They pray so well and in such affecting tones when they are praying in public. These are the vain repetitions our Lord warns us to avoid. Such praying is an abomination before God!
Dare I approach the Lord of heaven without sincerity, earnestness and thoughtfulness? Dare I speak to God without carefulness? Dear friends, let us take care that we do not pray out of habit, or ritual, or because it is time to pray. It would be better not to pray at all. Read the prayers of Moses, Elijah, David, Daniel and Paul. By their examples we should learn something about prayer. True prayer arises from a sense of need. It is the voice of a sincere heart crying out to the Lord. We do not know how to pray as we ought, by nature. The Spirit of God in a man’s heart teaches him how to pray. He leads, guides and directs the children of God in prayer.
Pray with adoration and thanksgiving, worshipping God and giving thanks to him. Pray in faith, trusting the merits of Christ’s righteousness and shed blood and resting in the promises of God. Pray with intercession, seeking God’s blessing upon his people. Pray in submission, submitting your will to God’s will, preferring his will to your own. And pray with sincerity, saying neither more nor less than you truly feel in your heart. Above all, seek the glory of God. When the glory of God in Christ is the motive of our prayers, we have begun to pray, but not until then.
