““And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.” (Matthew 6:7, ESV)
At an event for church leaders I attended, a well-known author was called upon to give the prayer for the day. She got up and asked us to pray and then delivered the prayer. Her words flowed like honey. They were highly eloquent and lofty. I didn’t even know the meaning of some of the words. I struggled to follow along. At the next break, another pastor and I spoke. During the conversation, he said to me, “Did you like the prayer for the day?”
I answered: “Honestly, I couldn’t follow along. I didn’t even understand some of it. Maybe it was me.”
He replied, “I’ve never heard a prayer with so many words of which none of them seemed to touch my heart. I guess you had to be loftier than I to connect to God through it.”
Prayer is meant to be a time to connect with God. Unfortunately, sometimes people throw a bunch of words at God as if they mean something. Some people recite prayer words from a bulletin, but don’t even take time to understand what is written and being said. There are many people who recite memorized prayers without taking the time to appreciate the words or meaning or emotion of the prayer. It may be on some Sunday morning when a prayer doesn’t touch you that you just aren’t in a prayerful frame of mind. At any rate, prayer time can become worthless when these types of things happen. When you can’t connect with God in prayer, something is wrong. Something needs to change. It is not good to waste that time of conversation with God!
A congregation was worshiping one Sunday. They moved through the Opening words. They heard the sermon. They had a collection. At the time of the Pastoral Prayer, the Pastor realized that he was missing his written prayer from his lectern. As he searched for it, he began to read the bulletin response…. “It is time for prayer”. The congregation responded, “We have come to speak with God Almighty”. The pastor, rifling through his papers on the lectern continued, “Let us bring to God our thoughts and pains, our devotion and concern”. The congregation obligingly read their written response. Following that, the pastor was supposed to say, “peace be with you!”, to which the congregation would respond, “And also with you.” But, with a loss for words because of missing Pastoral Prayer, the pastor said, “We seem to have a problem!” The congregation didn’t even stop. They continued saying their part of the service… “And also with you.” A few whispered laughs were heard. Few even understood what had happened.
When you rush through prayer time, recite a bunch of words in prayer without thinking, or throw a bunch of words together to sound holy in prayer, you miss the whole interaction with God! You begin talking AT God instead of talking WITH God. Have you ever met a person who hogged all the conversation by saying a bunch of words real fast and nobody could get a word in? That’s what happens when you throw up a bunch of words at God without a thought for the holy moment or God’s holy presence. Time in prayer is precious. Your words are important. Attention on God is paramount. Sometimes, silence in a prayer can make a huge difference as you listen for God’s “still small voice” or give yourself time to appreciate the dialogue. You don’t need to say a bunch of lofty words or do all the talking in prayer. Listening is often one of the best advantages in a prayer life.
In the scripture for today, Jesus is critical of those who waste their prayer time. He mentioned that Gentiles of the day often “heaped up empty phrases” to God, words that meant nothing to those gathered. Those words may have sounded eloquent or lofty, but they didn’t carry any meaning. There may have been a lot of words spoken, but dialogue with God wasn’t happening. The Gentiles were not the only ones to make this mistake in prayer, Jewish people did the same. Jesus warns His disciples not to fail in the same way in the scripture today with the words... “they think that they will be heard (by God) for their many words.” (Matthew 6:7). God doesn’t count the words to determine the worth of a prayer. God looks for meaning and connection, for honesty and integrity. Jesus expected more from His disciples.
How honest are you with God when you pray? Do you tend to hurry through your prayer time? Do you take time to listen for God’s voice? I think its high time you examine how and why you pray. Jesus wanted His disciples to have a meaningful prayer life WITH God, not an empty time filled with words and no depth. Jesus wants that kind of prayer life for you today. Will you allow it?
I answered: “Honestly, I couldn’t follow along. I didn’t even understand some of it. Maybe it was me.”
He replied, “I’ve never heard a prayer with so many words of which none of them seemed to touch my heart. I guess you had to be loftier than I to connect to God through it.”
Prayer is meant to be a time to connect with God. Unfortunately, sometimes people throw a bunch of words at God as if they mean something. Some people recite prayer words from a bulletin, but don’t even take time to understand what is written and being said. There are many people who recite memorized prayers without taking the time to appreciate the words or meaning or emotion of the prayer. It may be on some Sunday morning when a prayer doesn’t touch you that you just aren’t in a prayerful frame of mind. At any rate, prayer time can become worthless when these types of things happen. When you can’t connect with God in prayer, something is wrong. Something needs to change. It is not good to waste that time of conversation with God!
A congregation was worshiping one Sunday. They moved through the Opening words. They heard the sermon. They had a collection. At the time of the Pastoral Prayer, the Pastor realized that he was missing his written prayer from his lectern. As he searched for it, he began to read the bulletin response…. “It is time for prayer”. The congregation responded, “We have come to speak with God Almighty”. The pastor, rifling through his papers on the lectern continued, “Let us bring to God our thoughts and pains, our devotion and concern”. The congregation obligingly read their written response. Following that, the pastor was supposed to say, “peace be with you!”, to which the congregation would respond, “And also with you.” But, with a loss for words because of missing Pastoral Prayer, the pastor said, “We seem to have a problem!” The congregation didn’t even stop. They continued saying their part of the service… “And also with you.” A few whispered laughs were heard. Few even understood what had happened.
When you rush through prayer time, recite a bunch of words in prayer without thinking, or throw a bunch of words together to sound holy in prayer, you miss the whole interaction with God! You begin talking AT God instead of talking WITH God. Have you ever met a person who hogged all the conversation by saying a bunch of words real fast and nobody could get a word in? That’s what happens when you throw up a bunch of words at God without a thought for the holy moment or God’s holy presence. Time in prayer is precious. Your words are important. Attention on God is paramount. Sometimes, silence in a prayer can make a huge difference as you listen for God’s “still small voice” or give yourself time to appreciate the dialogue. You don’t need to say a bunch of lofty words or do all the talking in prayer. Listening is often one of the best advantages in a prayer life.
In the scripture for today, Jesus is critical of those who waste their prayer time. He mentioned that Gentiles of the day often “heaped up empty phrases” to God, words that meant nothing to those gathered. Those words may have sounded eloquent or lofty, but they didn’t carry any meaning. There may have been a lot of words spoken, but dialogue with God wasn’t happening. The Gentiles were not the only ones to make this mistake in prayer, Jewish people did the same. Jesus warns His disciples not to fail in the same way in the scripture today with the words... “they think that they will be heard (by God) for their many words.” (Matthew 6:7). God doesn’t count the words to determine the worth of a prayer. God looks for meaning and connection, for honesty and integrity. Jesus expected more from His disciples.
How honest are you with God when you pray? Do you tend to hurry through your prayer time? Do you take time to listen for God’s voice? I think its high time you examine how and why you pray. Jesus wanted His disciples to have a meaningful prayer life WITH God, not an empty time filled with words and no depth. Jesus wants that kind of prayer life for you today. Will you allow it?