The bible says not to pray in vain repetition as the heathens do for they think they will be heard for their many speakings...but this doesnt mean you cant pray a prayer over and over, Jesus himself gave us an organized prayer when he handed us the Lord's Prayer. Vain repetition means not having to ask God for something more than once, you have faith so you ask and you leave it alone. you shouldnt have to pray for something over and over, doing so only shows both God and satan that you have no faith.
2007-02-10 04:35:37 · 8 answers · asked by david 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Any prayer is vain if it is not done according to the will of God.
repitition here refers to the repition of a vain prayer. When ever a prayer excludes God and His will it is vain repitition.
The Lords prayer is not vain. It was not written for man to repeat and use as a prayer for themselves tho it doesn't hurt from time to time. It was designed as a pattern to show us the kind of things we need to pray for. It shows that prayers don't have to be long and dragged out. It shows fancy words and lingo don't have to be used. There was a lot more to this prayer than somehting to copy every day. It is a prime example how to put God in the center of the prayer.
2007-02-10 05:35:44 · answer #1 · answered by sandra_k19 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually "vain repetition" is the act of repeating a prescribed liturgy or script. The "Lord's Prayer" was given as an example to follow on how to pray (Jesus' words) and NOT as a mandated script. If all you do is repeat those words thinking this is what God wants to hear then you are praying in vain repetition. One of the blessings of the protestant reformation was moving away from prescripted liturgies and doing what the Bible says -- worshiping God in spirit and in truth. We have the freedom now to talk to God genuinely from the heart rather than follow scripts.
2007-02-10 04:51:22 · answer #2 · answered by Blessed 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jesus wasnt giving us an organized prayer to say over and over. There is nothing wrong with praying for something more than once, that simpy shows God that you are persistent. Many times Jesus rebuffed people but they persisted, like the Syrophoenician woman. God appreciates persistence and non-Catholics do not appreciate the boring recitation of the same prayers over and over. Prayer is supposed to be from the heart, not out of a book.
2007-02-10 04:55:16 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mostly, it's because they are anti-Catholic, and they were taught to pray some other way.
Christians are not heathens, praying to false and powerless gods, so it's very unlikely that ANY prayer, directed to the one, true God could possibly be in vain, no matter how many times it was done.
2007-02-10 06:41:40 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you're praying again and again but mean with your heart then is okay. Ther is nothing wrong with written prayers or praying repetition. It helps the sould and comforts the person. I'm Catholic and have done this many times and there is nothing wrong with it.
2007-02-10 13:29:09 · answer #5 · answered by cynical 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Catholicism includes a rich tradition of both informal (in our own words) and formal prayer just like our Jewish forefathers.
The Church teaches "the memorization of basic prayers offers an essential support to the life of prayer, but it is important to help learners savor their meaning." In other words, the Church emphasizes that formal prayer should not be mindless lip moving but instead a formal expression of clearly understood and heartfelt sentiments.
The verse in question reads, in the King James Version, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."
The important Greek word here for "vain repetitions" is battalogeo, or babbling. The heathens had a magical perception of prayer and thought the more they babbled to their gods, the more that that god would respond. I Kings 18:26 is an example of this:
"And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered."
Then, two verses after the warning in Matthew against "vain repetitions," Jesus gave us the "Lord's" prayer, which most Protestant Christians pray with no qualms about praying "in vain."
The same command in Luke 11:2 reads: "And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father..." -- "when you pray, say..."
In addition, Christ prayed in repetitions:
+ Matthew 26:44: "And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words."
+ Mark 14:39 reads: "And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words."
The angels pray repetitiously:
+ Revelation 4:8: "...and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come."
God commanded Moses to tell the Israelites:
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)
The Psalms are a collection of prayers and litanies, which were prayed formally in the Jewish synagogues and early Christian churches, are still prayed in synagogues and Catholic churches today -- and were even prayed by Christ from the Cross.
The liturgy of the synagogue was (and is) filled with repetition and formalized prayer. Christ said "use not vain repetitions, as the heathens do.” Were the Jews heathens? Jesus also prayed in the synagogue in this way.
They prayed (and still pray) the sh'ma twice a day and, in their liturgy, the Shemoneh Esrei, the Kaddish, the morning blessings, the Aleinu, etc. Check out a Jewish siddur (missal) sometime; does it look more typically Protestant or Catholic?
Hymns are prayers. Is it "vain" to sing "Amazing Grace" more than once?
Catholics do not babble but pray from the heart in formal and informal prayer.
With love in Christ.
2007-02-10 15:36:05 · answer #6 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sounds like you pretty well answered your question. I don't know that it would be sin to repeat your request. After all if something is important to you, it seems reasonable to emphasize it. In vain means without power in the Elizabethan language of the KJV "bible".
2007-02-10 04:41:23 · answer #7 · answered by hasse_john 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Many Protestants are guilty of that, myself included... the problem is by no means a Catholic one... but then again we are encouraged to be honest with God and pour out our feelings to Him. This could mean repeating your points over and over again in frustration, despair etc. It's ok.
2007-02-10 04:40:25 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In context, the word vanity means waste. You're wasting your breath...etc...
2007-02-10 04:39:00 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋