Lord, Teach Us To Pray!

St. Luke 11:1-2: Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

And Jesus replied: Make sure you are praying whatever is on your heart as the Spirit leads you. God loves a spontaneous prayer, and you definitely don't want to pray something that anyone else has ever prayed, ever. You must be original!

Actually, He didn't say that at all. Here what He did say:

St. Luke 11:3-4: So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”

A lot of Christians don't like repeating prayers that are not original. They view this as vain repetitions, which Jesus warns against in St. Matthew 6:7. But it's quite ironic that the warning about vain repetitions as the heathens do is in a specific context. Look at it.

St. Matthew 6:7-13: And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. 

Hmm. So Jesus says don't use vain repetitions, then gives them the Lord's Prayer to pray. So Jesus contradicted Himself, eh?

Not quite. The Lord's Prayer is not a vain repetition. I mean, if it meant that, praying any Scripture would be a vain repetition. What Jesus is rebuking here as "vain repetitions" is the idea of repeating the same thing over and over and in many ways in order to channel God, gain merit by more prayers, or make sure God really hears it by repeating it a bunch of times.

It has nothing to do with repeating prayers or using prayers that have been used for centuries.

So that is my thought for the day.

+Grace and Peace+