Dear Powerball:
Why do Catholics pray in repetition in spite of the admonitions against it in Matthew 6:7?
The verse you are refering to reads in the King James version, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."
Yet Jesus gave us the "Our Father" prayer which most Protestant Christians pray with no qualms about praying repeating often. The same command in Luke 11:2 reads: "And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father..." -- "when you pray, say..."
Christ Himself prayed in repetitions. Matthew 26:44: "And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words".
Have Israelite, early Christian, Jewish, Catholic and Orthodox liturgists been praying "vainly" for all these millennia, only to be set straight in the past hundred or so years by sola scriptura Protestants? Is it wrong to sing hymns that have been sung, verbatim, before? Or could some Protestants be simply wrong about what Catholics do when praying formal prayers?
4 comments:
First off - this isn't a 100% completely held view of Catholics.
Secondly - we need to be very careful about judging another's prayer or worship for that matter. The relationship one has with their Lord is indeed very personal and individual- not denying the collective sense of it as well.
It is true the Lord prayed repetitously. He also prayed conscientously, earnestly and consistently. It is the latter 'qualities' of prayer we, ourselves, need to employ - else our prayers can be vain/empty.
There is a pattern of prayer given in the recorded prayers in the Scriptures and the Lord's instructions to the disciples follows that plan.
1 - acknowledgement of Who God is.
2 - confession of personal sin
3 - requests/supplications
4 - seeking to be aligned with the will of God
You will find that David, Daniel, Nehemiah and many many others follow this basic 'format'.
We don't pray as we ought - thanks God for the Spirit of God that intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered.
Think of the angels in heaven who unceasingly pray "Holy Holy Holy" in front of the throne of God! Forever is quite a long repetition!
It is!
Again, I think the repetition isn't the issue- it's the consistency and earnesty in prayer that counts.
To pray according to the will of God is paramount - to do that over and over only shows your commitment to what Christ laid out for us in His instruction to pray that the will of God would be done on earth just like it is done in the heavens.
PS: Not everything is a disagreement. I would submit that one to pick on just the repetition lacks the consistency and earnesty in prayer.
What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer!
Clarification:
First off - this isn't a 100% completely held view of Catholics by non-catholics ...
Post a Comment