THE LORD’S PRAYER PART 4 : DO NOT PRAY LIKE THE PAGANS

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. – Matthew 5:7

    Previously, Jesus said that we should not pray like the Pharisees who prayed in public in order to demonstrate their piety and gain the admiration of men. Jesus points out another wrong way to pray but this time with the type of prayer that Gentile nations practiced.

    Gentile or pagan prayer involved babbling. One translation calls it “using vain repetitions” while another describes it as “heaping up empty phrases”. The intent is that by using elaborate words their prayers will be heard by the gods or goddesses that they worship.

    It is still being practiced today.  Here is how Ceisiwr Serith describes it in his book titled A Book of Pagan Prayer and I paraphrase his instruction on how to pray here :

    Prayer consists primarily of words. You can speak them loudly, softly, silently, or in a sing-song voice accompanied by a rocking motion in order to add rhythm to your words. You can pray the same prayer over and over again and it is okay if you start slurring what you say. It isn’t necessary to pay attention to each word because it will block feelings and spirituality. Pay attention to a word that jumps out of your prayer because it may be an insight planted by the god or goddess into your mind. Now the prayers can become even more alive if a relaxed posture, rhythmic motion, dance, music or gestures are added to the words. All this is done in order to invite the presence of the deities (gods, goddesses, and ancestral spirits) and obtain a favorable response from them.

   The pagan approach to prayer has influenced even Christian prayers today. There are religious institutions that advocate repetition of the Lord’s Prayer as penance for sins committed. There is centering or contemplative prayer. It all sounds so spiritual but its form is no different from pagan practices as described by C. Serith.

   This kind of praying is clearly wrong. First of all, Jesus did not teach us to pray in this manner and we will see this clearly when we unfold the Lord’s Prayer. Second, God isn’t deaf and doesn’t need us to do anything in order to gain His attention and favor. He already knows our thoughts, attitudes and our emotions (Psalm 139). Lastly, in Matthew 5:8, our relationship to our Father is so close that He already knows what we need even before we ask Him!