Should we repeat prayers or not? 

Jesus said this as part of his great sermon on the mount. Ver. 7, chapter 6 of Matthew. When you are praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do. For they think that they will be heard because of their many words.

In pagan religions they would believe that they could cajole their gods to act if they just kept saying a lot of words, a lot of words in their prayers to their gods and they thought that, well that would cajole their gods to act. But when you listen to the words of Jesus, does that mean that we should not repeat our prayers? Or the child that prays the prayer at night? Now I lay me down to sleep. Is that wrong? Well, let's complicate things.

Turn over please to Matthew chapter 26.  And lets take a look at verse 39.

The setting here is the garden. The cross is looming. And in verse 39 of Matthew 26 we read "And going a little farther he threw himself on the ground and prayed My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want." 

Lets go down to verse 42. "Again he went away for the second time and prayed My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." And then in verse 44... "So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time saying the same words." Here we have an example of Jesus himself repeating a prayer. Or in Acts the second chapter it says, "They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers."  There is a reference to fixed set, repeated prayers. Repeated prayers that they would say. So are we not supposed to repeat our prayers or are we supposed to repeat our prayers?

A temptation that we have in our prayer life is to think that there's something that we do that causes God to answer our prayers. For example, we can think, "Oh if my mind just didn't wander so much then God would have answered that prayer. But my mind kept wandering as I would pray." Or we might say to ourselves, "If I just had more faith then God would have answered my prayers." Or we might say, "Maybe I'm just a little bit more emotional in my prayers, then God will hear me and answer the prayers."  Or if I get a certain number of people to join me in the prayer, then God will answer the prayer. Or if I'm really really, really sincere and God can pick up on my sincerity, well then he'll answer my prayer. Or if I just keep saying it over and over and over again, then God will answer my prayers.

Jesus said in Matthew 6 "When you praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think they'll be heard because of their many words."  You see what Jesus was condemning in Matthew the six chapter was thinking that there's something that we do that causes him to answer prayers. That's what he was condemning.

Jesus Christ went to the cross. He bore all of our sin. All of it has been borne upon him through his shed blood. We are a forgiven people. We've been redeemed. God calls us his own in the waters of baptism. There is absolutely nothing that we contribute to God's gracious redemption of us as his children. By his grace, he calls us to pray. And that prayer is bathed in grace.

You see, the cross frees us to pray. Short prayers, long prayers, new prayers, repeated prayers. 

Gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for this time in your Word. Your Word is truth. We thank you O Lord, that your call to pray is bathed in grace. And so we thank you Lord, that you that we can come to you, we can turn to you in prayer and that you promise to hear us and that you hear us not because of anything that we do, but because of your grace. And so thank you Lord for the freedom to pray new prayers, old prayers, long prayers, and repeated prayers. Thank you God for your grace. In Jesus name. Amen. 

God bless you. This week encourage.

Pastor Eibel