The Problem, or Question
This question has come to me many times and I recently heard it raised again: If we keep on praying for the same thing over and over, isn't that just the "vain repetition" that Jesus told us not to do? Or are we supposed to pray and never give up?Let's look at the "vain repetition" question first.
The phrase "vain repetition" comes to us in Matthew 6:7, from the King James version and a few other versions (NIV has "babbling"). It translates a Greek word (βατταλογέω - battalogeo), that most lexicons agree means to babble, stammer, speak without thinking, or something along those lines. It's a word rarely found outside of this passage and references to it, so it's difficult to be more specific. However, since it seems to be in parallel with "many words" (KJV "much speaking"). Here the Greek word (πολυλογία - polulogia) is much clearer, since it's composed of a known prefix (polu - many) and suffix (logia - words/speach).
Let's look at this verse in context (the relevant verse is underlined):
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." (Matt 6:5-8, NIV)Jesus then goes on to teach us how to pray by giving us the Lord's Prayer.
We see here that Jesus is addressing hypocritical prayer in public (v.5), advising prayer away from the public eye (v.6), then our verse, and finally the reason we should avoid what verse 6 advises against: God already knows what we need.
So, what is it Jesus is asking us not to do in verse 6? Is he saying, just make your request known once and let God take it from there, or is he saying, don't believe your prayers will be heard better because of the many words you use when you pray? Or something else?
Before answering that question let's look at another passage on prayer:
Persistence in Prayer
In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus tells us a parable to teach us that we "should always pray and not give up" (v.1). Here's that passage:Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ ” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:1–8, NIV)In this passage we have Jesus telling us via a parable that we should pray and not give up, and assure us that God's "chosen ones who cry out to him day and night" will get "justice, and quickly." (By the way that word for "quickly" is used also in Revelation 1:1; 22:6, where it is translated "soon.")
Does this mean that we can, and maybe should pray for the same thing more than once? Crying out for justice "day and night" certainly seems like it, doesn't it. Are there any examples of praying for the same thing more than once in the New Testament? I'm glad you asked. ;-)
In 1Thessalonians 3:10 we read this: "Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith." Other similar references to praying for the same thing more than once can be found in these passages: Ephesians 1:16-17, Colossians 1:9-11, 2Thessalonians 1:11-12, 2Timothy 1:3. There are other passages where it is likely that what is being prayed for is more than a one-time thing, but in these passages it is undeniable.
Putting the Two Together
There is an important principle of Bible interpretation in which we let Scripture interpret Scripture. In this case, we can choose to look at Luke 18:1-8, and 1Thessalonians 3:10, in the light of one of the options for interpreting Matthew 6:7. We might try to take those passages (and the others mentioned above) as if they are still about only praying one time for one matter. We could construct a way to force them into that assumption, but it would not be easy.
On the other hand, if we read the other passages first, and take them at face value, and then wonder if Matthew 6:7 can fit into that, we find a very easy and simple solution, requiring no secret or special knowledge of Greek, logic, or theological subtleties. Namely, Matthew 6:7 is not teaching us to pray for things only one time and then stop, Matthew 6:7 is telling us that when we pray, we should not pray as if wordiness in prayer can get us better results. I think that's right.
The models of and teaching about prayer in the Bible, encourage persistence in prayer, even about the same thing. The people of Israel cried out for centuries for deliverance from Egypt, and God finally responded to their cries and delivered them. Nowhere was their persistence in prayer chastised, or criticized. In fact, we don't find any place in Scripture where anyone is criticized for persistence in prayer, that is, praying over and over ("day and night") for the same thing.
Where Does the Idea of Praying "Just Once" Come From?
In my opinion, the idea that we should pray just once comes from faulty theology, or discouragement in prayer, or both.A faulty theology can be easily constructed to demonstrate that God's sovereignty means He will accomplish His will, without our prayers (or other actions) at all. I have no doubt that God could work that way. However, according to Scripture God doesn't work that way.
We could also mediate the above bad theology, and create a concession to Scripture by asserting that God sometimes only acts in response to prayer, but once a petition is asked, there is no need to repeat it, since God has already heard it and will respond according to His will. Once again, I have no doubt that God could work that way, but according to Scripture, God sometimes does not respond until after a period of persistence in prayer.
The other place this idea comes from is just plain discouragement. In fact, in Luke 18:1, the word behind [they should always pray and not] "give up" (NIV), may be better translated [they should always pray and not] "be discouraged." Discouragement in prayer, especially about something we have brought to God many times, is not hard to understand.
In this discouragement, it is easy to look for a way out of a behavior that doesn't seems to be working. We can quite easily create a theology that explains away the unanswered prayer in a way that "gets us off the hook" (so to speak) from continuing to pray. We can jump on the "it must not be God's will" wagon and be carried off to the land of "not my responsibility to keep praying," or we can jump on the other wagons mentioned above and conclude that we shouldn't have been praying like that in the first place.
However, discouragement makes a poor motivation for theology. It makes a great motivation for Stoicism, or fatalism. We could accept our 'fate' with Stoic resolve, head held high, rising above our emotions, vulcanizing our hearts to our own pain. And some do this very thing. But it's not Biblical; that's not how prayer is modeled in Scripture; that's not what we're taught in Scripture.
Conclusion
In it's discussions on prayer, the Bible invites us to pour out our hearts to God. It rejects the sort of prayer that is empty of prayer's true purpose (for example, the prayers done for public admiration in Matthew 6), or prayer that tries to manipulate or impress God with eloquence or overcome His resistance by pestering Him with the amount of words we use to ask for simple matters. Nowhere is there even a hint that we should pray only so long for something and then stop. In fact, it seems we are to keep praying for justice (i.e., setting things right), until justice is granted (Luke 18:1-8). And since this is a parable, for anything that the Kingdom of God is expected to triumph over (e.g., illness, demonization, leprosy, death, sin, etc.).
I hope that this isn't a real issue for most folks who read this blog. But I do know that it is an issue for some. For them, I hope I've clarified the issues and encouraged you to keep on praying and not give up.
