Is repetitive prayer wrong?

I have heard some people rebuke such teaching. Is repetitive prayer wrong? If so how can you explain Jesus Himself doing repetitive prayer.

I don't typically do repetitive prayer just because I don't want the words to become just words. I don't want something to become ritual and not heartfelt at all, as what happened with Israel and all their festivals. They were so ritual that they no longer meant anything to them. The only prayer I can ever think of Jesus saying in the bible was the one in the garden. He gave the people the Lord's prayer and that was really a model prayer, and something that should be prayed every day and can really be form fitted to any season of our lives.

I don't have anything against people who do repetitious prayer, for me it just gets to the point where it becomes no longer heartfelt anymore. Saying the words without really giving them any thought. Know what you're saying. If it is a true and heartfelt desire to God, then repetitious or not, God will meet it.

If you are praying to God with a genuine heart, I don't see how any type of prayer could be wrong.

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

Care to point out where in the scriptures you believe there is any indication that Jesus is "doing repetitive prayer"...?



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Matthew 26:44 Jesus prays in Gethsemane
So leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words.

There are more verses that talk about repeating prayer, the problem is vain repetitive prayer. The same goes for those who pray for ten minutes in prayer, using their own words and not truly believing them. It is not how many word you use or how much you repeat a word, it is when they are in vain that they are worthless.

I like to repeat this prayers from the heart:
For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole word.

or

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God have mercy on me a sinner.

or

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

GRA that scripture refers to vain repetitive prayer as in prayers you repeat just took good, to check them off your list, or to say you've done your holy duty. A repetitive prayer is not vain unless the heart of the person is vain. That scripture is referring to the motive of the Pray-ER not the words themselves.

"Please show me these verses, so that we may continue the conversation..."



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Just to be clear this is the only one I know where Jesus repeats the same prayers. The other verses are not about Jesus repeating prayer. Do you still want those? Remember it is not really the prayer itself that is the problem, it is any prayer said in vain. Just because I have to say a prayer.

Jesus prayed the same prayer 3 times at Gethsemane. Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer. Certainly he didn't mean that we should only pray it once. Wasn't it Jesus who told the disciples who couldn't deliver a man that it required more prayer and fasting?

"I believe that the verse is referring to such things as 'praying the rosary' - saying the same thing over and over and over - during the same 'session' of prayer. ( i.e., 'when ye pray' )"

The words 'use', 'vain', and 'repetitions' in this verse - together - i.e., "use vain repetitions" - come from the same word in the Greek. The word 'not' is a separate word used to "negate" the meaning.

The point is - it is the use of repetition that is being described as what makes it vain.

In other words:

"No need to say it more than once. Anything more than that is vain."



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I do not believe that 'repetitions' in this verse applies to Jesus praying the same prayer three different times. I think the phrase 'when ye pray' is significant - please see my previous post.



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The point is to decide if using repetition in prayer is wrong. We know that words alone is not what God hears, Christ would not do that. We know that Christ followed what God had told the Hebrews to do as they followed Him, and some of that was instruction in prayer. Perhaps Christ did start His day with the Amadah. When He gave us the Lord's prayer, it is really a short form of that prayer.

I was very careful to never use anyone else's words when I spoke with the Lord. Then I read such prayers as the amadah, etc. and it has shown me the way to a closer walk with my Lord.

I don't think there's anything wrong with repetitive prayer, if your heart has the right motivation. But I personally find it distracting when people pray and repeat names of God over and over in a prayer, as if God had ADD and didn't know he was being addressed so he needed to be reminded of it. If it helps people communicate with God, great but it's not for me.

But how are we to understand two verses before this when it says:

Mt 6:5 and when you pray do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to prat standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men.

Then it tell us to pray in private, then it talks about vain repetitions. It does not say repetitive prayer by itself but vain repetitive. How can you know if a person is praying in vain or not? only God knows this.

What if I pray by just repeating
I love you God
I love you God
I love you God...

And every time is heart felt. Of course there is only but a preference as to how to pray repeating or not. The problem would be to do it with ough love.

It sure can be. Not in and of itself though.

And then there is the person who sins, asks forgiveness, pays for the sin, is forgiven by God, and the next day asks for forgiveness for the same sin he asked and received forgiveness for already.

Or the person who is ill, takes it to the Lord in prayer every day. Like Lord, I have arthritus, I have arthritus, I have arthritus.

Just to add a comment for consideration - Rev 4 v 8 ......
Day and night they never stopped saying Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God
Almighty, who was and is and is to come.

That's pretty redundant, Miri, but sometimes web confronted with the holiness of God there is very little you can say.

It is wrong, without the meaningfulness of it, its vague or worthless and vain. Its the same as making your computer pray for you at night with a "audio random prayer" per night.

When I think of the "babbling like pagans" i am assuming Jesus is referring to chants. a chant is a vain repitition. Vain means useless and has no effect.

Also, if you notice when you look back in Matthew 26 when Jesus is praying he doesnt actually do it repetitively. He prays, talks to the disciples then prays. Each time was "interrupted".He wasn't chanting. He wasnt doing it for show, and each time he prayed he was in more agony to the point blood was dripping from him. Obviously this was coming from his heart to pray to the point you bleed. I don't consider this an example of "repetitive prayer", but probably more like a plea to God. The man was terrified. He knew what was about to happen. I am sure that I would do the same thing too if I was about to be tortured like he was.
He was "in the moment" as well. That's different than praying the same thing day after day after day that is recited.