Day in, day out...same prayer, same times. Why would god need prayer offerings of such repetition in order to be pleased with mankind? What is the crux of that?
2007-07-03 09:59:18 · 23 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
no. even the bible speaks against repetitious prayers.
2007-07-03 10:02:14 · answer #1 · answered by Chippy v1.0.0.3b 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The repetition of prayers functions like a mantra, focusing the mind of the person praying while driving out distractions.
The repetition of prayers gives comfort.
The repetition of prayers can serve as a kind of affirmation.
Repetition benefits the person doing the praying. The prayer can be genuine none-the-less.
God doesn't give a rat's petootie if you repeat a prayer a gazillion times because God knows what we need even before we ask.
2007-07-03 17:03:56 · answer #2 · answered by Linda R 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A prayer does NOT need to be "repetitious" as some claim...(for that is the way the Pharisees prayed) God does not NEED any of our prayers...but as a parent that appreciates when His child asks for things...(with kindness & love & respect) So the Lord God LOVES it when His Children come before Him to "talk".
1 Peter 4:7-11 7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
God already KNOWS what is in your heart,..He just wants to hear you, in humble submission...tell Him these things.
For truely He does LOVE all His Children!
Joh 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
2007-07-03 17:11:01 · answer #3 · answered by maranatha132 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." Matthew 6:7
I don't think we want to be considered heathens.
I wonder how the "Hail Mary" fits in there? Or reciting the Lord's Prayer word for word.
The Lord's Prayer was an example and was not meant to be memorized. Besides, the part "thy kingdom come" is actually outdated since it refers to the church, which has already been established.
A prayer should be from the heart and meaningful. We must pray in faith (James 1:6). We must pray to God with “clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:3,4). Our prayers must be in keeping with God’s Will (Luke 22:42).
2007-07-03 17:35:30 · answer #4 · answered by TG 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends. They can be.
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.
2007-07-04 22:34:18 · answer #5 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So... you have the same chances of your prayer coming true whether you are praying to your god, some chair, or your own head.... prayer is effective only when it involves meditation & inner-understanding of your own emotions so that you can deal with them & be successful by your own doings.
The concept that you can ask god for something specific & get it, is a very juvenile & incomplete way of looking at your greater power.
2007-07-03 17:04:16 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
From what I have learned...God wants a relationship just as any Father would want with a child.
Would you get up every morning and go downstairs and say the exact same words to your Dad every morning and then go about your day as if he weren't around?
I believe God wants genuine conversation and I try to respect God as Maker and Creator of all and embrace Him as my best friend and Father.
2007-07-03 17:04:07 · answer #7 · answered by Buff 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Saying repetitious prayers is very similar to a Hindu chant. It quiets the mind.
The looney xtians won't admit it though.
2007-07-03 17:02:29 · answer #8 · answered by joe s 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Prayer does little to solve a situation, action does a lot.
Prayer in routine intervals is used as a form of meditation however, and is fine with me, as it tends to calm some people.
2007-07-03 17:02:15 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
No they are not, according to what Jesus taught in Saint Matthew's gospel, chapter six:
7But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Pastor Art
2007-07-03 17:04:12 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Matthew 6:5-7
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:7
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
2007-07-03 17:08:39 · answer #11 · answered by hog b 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋