Catholic prayer question: Why are your prayers often repeated over and over?

[Maria Billingsley]

As a non-denominational Christian I have noticed this in the past. Whatever the prayer is, its often repeated many, many times. I'm just not understanding why this is done. Why not just pray whatever is on your heart after saying whatever Catholic prayer best represents your feelings or needs?

I dont think the repetion of a prayer is the problem. It is praying in vain. Empty words dont go over well with our Father no matter what denomination.
Blessings.

 

[Landon Caeli]

I dont think the repetion of a prayer is the problem. It is praying in vain. Empty words dont go over well with our Father no matter what denomination.
Blessings.

That seems like a useful and very understandable distinction.

 

[pdudgeon]

I really doubt this. Its easier to just let words roll out of your mouth without personal input. Much easier.
I have to say the answers that most Catholics give for their questionable practices is very worrying. There's a total lack of Biblical backup among other issues.
One huge problem when you've been in a particular group for a long time is by pulling away you are saying "For the last few decades I made some very bad choices". And nobody is very comfortable saying something like that. Human nature is a beast. That's why it seems so much better to be non-demoninational and just use the Bible as a guide. I've rarely found an alive Protestant church that didn't have several edifying and uplifting aspects to it. I think we should approach it without such stringent standards. Church leaders will make mistakes and we shouldn't expect perfection.

In response, I have to say that the Church is not here to make us feel good, or to please us, or entertain us, or to say that what God says is wrong the Church can make OK.
Wrong is just simply wrong.
The Church can forgive the wrong if the correct behavior is explained, and serious efforts are made to not sin again.
But the wrong behavior itself remains wrong.
That doesn't change.
To put it simply, The Catholic Church is here to:
1. help us be good
2. do what God wants us to do.
3. To learn about and love God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
And that's the huge difference between the Catholic Church and all the other churches.

Sorry, I know that doing that is not popular now, but it is what it is.

 

[Jamdoc]

Revelation 4:8

8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to sing,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”

You're not a cherubim designed for endlessly repeating the same thing over and over.

 

[Lost4words]

You're not a cherubim designed for endlessly repeating the same thing over and over.

I am still a subject of God designed to praise Him over and over though...

 

[Jamdoc]

I am still a subject of God designed to praise Him over and over though...

Serving God is more than repeating praise over and over.
The original purpose of man was to hold dominion of the Earth. That has not changed, it has been sidetracked.
That is one of the things to be restored.
That's where all the language of "ruling and reigning" comes from.
Ruling as God's steward, is itself worship, because it is obeying God.

Otherwise, Adam and Eve would have been created.. and then just endlessly fell on their faces praising.
We're different beings with a different means of glorifying God.
Praise is only part.
the fullness of worship is when we do what God meant for us to do.

Genesis 1

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Genesis 2

15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

the beginning... and..
the end

Revelation 22

3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Service to God is fulfilled through doing the designed purpose we were created for, to hold dominion of the Earth with Christ.

 

[Lost4words]

Serving God is more than repeating praise over and over.
The original purpose of man was to hold dominion of the Earth. That has not changed, it has been sidetracked.
That is one of the things to be restored.
That's where all the language of "ruling and reigning" comes from.
Ruling as God's steward, is itself worship, because it is obeying God.

Otherwise, Adam and Eve would have been created.. and then just endlessly fell on their faces praising.
We're different beings with a different means of glorifying God.
Praise is only part.
the fullness of worship is when we do what God meant for us to do.

Genesis 1


Genesis 2


the beginning... and..
the end

Revelation 22


Service to God is fulfilled through doing the designed purpose we were created for, to hold dominion of the Earth with Christ.

And to praise and worship Him continually, in prayer and with our lives.

 

[Jamdoc]

And to praise and worship Him continually, in prayer and with our lives.

Holding Dominion as intended IS worship, because when we rule, we do so as if He rules, because we obey His will.
That obedience IS praise, IS exaltation, and IS worship (and more so than lip service), because #1. God commanded us to do it, and #2. While being given absolute dominion, we defer to His will to do so, we're the executives, but executing His will. Casting crowns at His feet is more than just an image of laying down jewelry in front of Jesus. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Not a King of a choir.

 

[Lost4words]

Holding Dominion as intended IS worship, because when we rule, we do so as if He rules, because we obey His will.
That obedience IS praise, IS exaltation, and IS worship (and more so than lip service), because #1. God commanded us to do it, and #2. While being given absolute dominion, we defer to His will to do so, we're the executives, but executing His will. Casting crowns at His feet is more than just an image of laying down jewelry in front of Jesus. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Not a King of a choir.

Pray without ceasing my friend

 

[Jamdoc]

Pray without ceasing my friend

Yes, but my point is, it's not like the 4 cherubs that literally do nothing but repeat the same phrase over and over (for the at least 800 years when Isaiah saw them till John saw them, and likely they've been doing it since).

are you going to be in communion with God constantly? Yes
are you going to spend eternity just singing HOLY HOLY HOLY...?
no.

 

[Lost4words]

Yes, but my point is, it's not like the 4 cherubs that literally do nothing but repeat the same phrase over and over (for the at least 800 years when Isaiah saw them till John saw them, and likely they've been doing it since).

are you going to be in communion with God constantly? Yes
are you going to spend eternity just singing HOLY HOLY HOLY...?
no.

But, we can and should pray without ceasing.

 

[Jamdoc]

But, we can and should pray without ceasing.

and at the same time, not using vain repetitions.
So
the example of the Cherubim that say the same phrase over and over repetitively?
That's not us, it's a non applicable example.

 

[Landon Caeli]

Serving God is more than repeating praise over and over.

It's only a myth that this is all Catholics do.

 

[Landon Caeli]

Yes, but my point is, it's not like the 4 cherubs that literally do nothing but repeat the same phrase over and over (for the at least 800 years when Isaiah saw them till John saw them, and likely they've been doing it since).

are you going to be in communion with God constantly? Yes
are you going to spend eternity just singing HOLY HOLY HOLY...?
no.

It's not true that Catholics empty-mindedly repeat prayers over and over. That's just what some want to think, because inventing faults in the Catholic Church, helps legitimize their own denomination.

 

[Albion]

Why not just talk to Him?

That's encouraged, too.

As for repetitions, Scripture does say to pray without ceasing, and that does seem to make repeating a hymn of praise or a petition make sense. Furthermore, most denominations do use repetitions to some degree; it's not just a Catholic thing.

 

[Landon Caeli]

I wonder how many times people have said the word "Amen" within the last 12 months, and still complain about repitition.

...Or is it becoming popular to exclude that from prayer now too.

 

[Michie]

I wonder how many times people have said the word "Amen" within the last 12 months, and still complain about repitition.

...Or is it becoming popular to exclude that from prayer now too.

I say amen constantly. Me and my vain repetitions...

 

[Albion]

I used to belong to a Bible Study group that was mainly populated by fundamentalists and non-denominational Christians who, I am guessing, would agree with the criticisms of Catholic-style repetitions. Naturally, every meeting began with an invocation.

Different people gave the invocation in different months. Nevertheless, the supposedly spontaneous invocation was almost always "Heavenly Father, we come today askin' you to ____."

That always seemed like repetitious prayer to me, especially as I could just about lip synch the speaker as he was praying his prayer, so predictable was it.

 

[Michie]

I used to belong to a Bible Study group that was mainly populated by fundamentalists and non-denominational Christians who, I am guessing, would agree with the criticisms of Catholic-style repetitions. Naturally, every meeting began with an invocation.

Different people gave the invocation in different months. Nevertheless, the supposedly spontaneous invocation was almost always "Heavenly Father, we come today askin' you to ____."

That always seemed like repetitious prayer to me, especially as I could just about lip synch the speaker as he was praying his prayer, so predictable was it.

I remember when I was Protestant those prayers. Very repetitious. Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah. Thank you Jesus Thank you Jesus Thank you Jesus. Etc. lol

 

[Michie]

Jesus' condemnation of the pagans is not a condemnation of all repetitious prayer

Continued below.
Do Catholics Pray “Vain Repetitions?”

I think we are all Christians here. Not pagans.