Article 2 (2 of 2)
"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." Matthew 6.7 KJV
Matthew's gospel tells us Jesus' response to his disciples when they ask him, "Teach us to pray as John taught his disciples." Jesus will go on to offer the familiar words, "Our Father who art in heaven..."
Having grown up in a Christian world view we take for granted that we know how to pray. We see our grandmothers or mothers do it. If we are lucky we might see our father modeling prayer. Of course on Sundays we see the priest standing on behalf the people praying.
Growing up, my prayer life was modeled/muddled with an uncertainty of how to speak to God. And it generally boiled down to requests for health when I was sick, or a plea to not get caught if I had done something wrong.
As a child during worship services I remember hearing the lay reader rattle off a never ending chain of names. If it seemed to take an eternity to read through the list of names, then it was because it took forever. Who were these faceless people that we prayed for?
It struck me recently that having read the bible I've never come across a passage of scripture that mandates, or even suggests, that the church or individuals have a "prayer list." In the ancient church a piece of paper would be considered a luxury. Who could afford paper? Who could read; who could write? Your prayers were offered for the names of the people that you remember. A written list of names of faceless people is peculiar to our age.
That thought reminded me of a church I attended in high school. The prayer list seemed to go on and on. At some point a new priest came and began to clean things up a bit. He asked intrusive questions such as, "Who is this person on the prayer list?" The church had been praying the name of a sick woman for many years. With a little bit of sleuthing he discovered she had died two years earlier.
No one bothered to take her off the list. No one bothered to take her off the list...(sic)
Jesus' admonition that we not pray vein and repetitious prayers is a call to mindfulness in our prayers. We don't pray simply to hear our own voices or to offer up many words because we think God will hear us. We pray to be mindful of God in the lives of people that we name.
Don't take for granted that the way we do things is always the "right" way. Sometimes, it's just "the-way-we've-always-done-it." "The-way-we've-always-done-it" is not a good enough reason for the status quo. Jesus teaches us to make prayers and supplications with mindful intention, not mindless, meaningless liturgy or lists. When you pray, pray thoughtfully.
Blessings,
Fr. Stephen+
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