Repeating Prayers

[quietthinker]

Forgive me Mr. Stan, I'm still a beginner in spiritual matters and like the blind man in my ignorance I stumble a lot (in understanding the scriptures), and the evil thoughts of my heart, like a demon possessed daughter (Matthew 15:22), drag my doggish mind back to the vomit of my past failures, rendering me unworthy to receive the children's bread. For this reason, imitating the Canaanite woman's persistence, and to overcome the doubts and all the other noise the demons heap upon my soul to silence it (Mark 10:48), I feel compelled to babble: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me!”

Chin up icxn....those who recognise their failings and admit them......those who desire to have it better than it is.....will be given strength to endure.

 

[historyb]

I feel compelled to babble: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me!”

That is a good prayer and a great one to repeat. Saying the Jesus Prayer | St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary

 

[friend of]

I feel compelled to babble: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me!”

That's what I usually pray too. When I'm tired and can't believe how far I fall short sometimes that mercy is all I can pray for.

I feel the same as the OP. My prayers aren't very creative and I imagine it must be disrespectful to God to have ugly boring prayers. Others can pray so much more beautifully and effectively than I can. Drawing on multiple verses from scripture and the like. Makes me feel like a dried up well while others have this flowing spring of living spiritual water cascading out of their heart. I wish that was me again but alas I'm pretty repetitive in my prayer life also

 

[Josho]

Hmmm but what does "vain repetitions" really refer to?

There are a couple definitions of the word "vain."

A quick search on Google brings this up.



In the Greek it means

battologéō – properly, to blubber nonsensical repetitions; to chatter (be "long-winded"), using empty (vain) words (Souter).

So to pray the same prayers, like saying Grace, using prayer books, praying for a good nights sleep, is not what I would consider a nonsensical repetition, it's not what I would call praying with empty words. If you are praying with heart and because you want to, that's not a vain repetition, if you are praying because you want to talk with Jesus, that's not a vain repetition.

 

[Josho]

Hmmm but what does "vain repetitions" really refer to?

There are a couple definitions of the word "vain."

A quick search on Google brings this up.

View attachment 9807

In the Greek it means

battologéō – properly, to blubber nonsensical repetitions; to chatter (be "long-winded"), using empty (vain) words (Souter).

So to pray the same prayers, like saying Grace, using prayer books, praying for a good nights sleep, is not what I would consider a nonsensical repetition, it's not what I would call praying with empty words. If you are praying with heart and because you want to, that's not a vain repetition, if you are praying because you want to talk with Jesus, that's not a vain repetition.

To add to this some of us really aren't all that good at putting words together, and it would be wrong to judge our prayers as empty.

 

[quietthinker]

That's what I usually pray too. When I'm tired and can't believe how far I fall short sometimes that mercy is all I can pray for.

I feel the same as the OP. My prayers aren't very creative and I imagine it must be disrespectful to God to have ugly boring prayers. Others can pray so much more beautifully and effectively than I can. Drawing on multiple verses from scripture and the like. Makes me feel like a dried up well while others have this flowing spring of living spiritual water cascading out of their heart. I wish that was me again but alas I'm pretty repetitive in my prayer life also

Prayers are not a performance that compares with others.....and how do you know that the prayers of others are more effective? do you have inside knowledge of what God responds to?

Prayer is putting your petitions before God both the requests of our needs, our growth, thankfulness for his protection, for an instructed tongue, for wisdom and for courage.

It presents others to him for his care and for the influence of his Spirit not just for those who you love but those who treat you poorly and that his love maybe poured out in our heart's for others.

 

[theophilus]

Why do you not understand that if you are a Christian then Jesus has already had mercy on you and lavished love on you and grace and forgiveness. You do not need to keep 'babbling' about it. - your word

If you are a new Christian and aren't certain about the truth of these things it is better to keep asking God for them than not to think about them at all. When I was first saved I was worried that I could lose my salvation if I didn't live a good life so I often asked God for things that he had already given me.

Included in "vain repetitions" would be the use of 'prayer books' from which people insincerely read their prayers to God, insinuating that God is too stupid to read a prayer book for Himself, even if He wanted to.

How do you know that people who use prayer books are insincere. Many of our hymns are actually prayers. Is it wrong to sing these hymns?

The book of Psalms contains many prayers. It is a combination prayer book and hymnal that God has given to us to use.

 

[icxn]

Why do you not understand that if you are a Christian then Jesus has already had mercy on you and lavished love on you and grace and forgiveness. You do not need to keep 'babbling' about it. - your word

I’m not against encouraging oneself with the hope of salvation and Christ’s love for us, especially when temptations plunge us into despair. But we need to investigate the reasons of such temptations and if we discover that it is because of some sin (the most likely case), we need to humble ourselves and ask for God’s mercy. I didn’t put the word babbling in quotes because I always consider my prayers to be such (~Romans 8:26). There’s also great benefit in considering oneself a castaway (Psalms 31:22)*. The Lord answers the prayers of such people speedily.

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* In the Septuagint it is rendered: “But I said in my extreme fear, I am cast out from the sight of thine eyes: therefore thou didst hearken, O Lord, to the voice of my supplication when I cried to thee.”

 

[Pearl]

I’m not against encouraging oneself with the hope of salvation and Christ’s love for us, especially when temptations plunge us into despair. But we need to investigate the reasons of such temptations and if we discover that it is because of some sin (the most likely case), we need to humble ourselves and ask for God’s mercy. I didn’t put the word babbling in quotes because I always consider my prayers to be such (~Romans 8:26). There’s also great benefit in considering oneself a castaway (Psalms 31:22)*. The Lord answers the prayers of such people speedily.

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* In the Septuagint it is rendered: “But I said in my extreme fear, I am cast out from the sight of thine eyes: therefore thou didst hearken, O Lord, to the voice of my supplication when I cried to thee.”

You can do more than hope for salvation you can be assured of it. Read Romans 8:1-17.