Is mindlessly repeating prayer a sin?

[winterbluebells]

I read that it was

 

[ittarter]

define "mindless"
define "sin"

 

[AlAyeti]

I read that it was

From what I've read, you are right.

 

[winterbluebells]

Reading a prayer without thinking what it means

 

[ittarter]

Reading a prayer without thinking what it means

I can understand why it might not be as beneficial, but I don't see why it would be a sin.

 

[LightSeaker]

I read that it was

For myself, the desired prayer is felt deeply with in ones heart and soul. Thinking about it, in my opinion, is pretty much no different than saying it in a mindless manor. That's because in the process of thinking about a prayer, that does not touch ones heart and soul in the same way that feeling it does.

.

 

[DrBubbaLove]

If I mindlessly dedicate my sleep, marriage, work, life....whatever to God, am not sure what would be sinful about that act itself. The act itself is not a sin, but my intent could be - saying it to be noticed for example.

If the question were "could repeating a prayer for an hour be beneficial", I think the answer is, yes it can be. But again, it would only be in examining the heart and intent of the individual that we could perhaps say how beneficial.

No matter what Church I am in, how would I know looking at someone praying silently on their knees or sitting quitely in a pew or reciting a prayer repeatedly whether they were doing so mindlessly? And if I were seriously attempting to distinguish the mental state of someone praying to God, at some point I would have to ask myself why do I care.

 

[DamianWarS]

God does not want our words he wants our heart. Just off hand I can think of a few scripture references:

Isaiah 1

11 "The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?" says the LORD.
"I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your evil assemblies.
14 Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts
my soul hates.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood;

This passage is not directly about prayer although it talks about it but in general it is about doing things just for the sake of doing them and having no heart or desire in it; doing works for the sake of doing works. This passage says God detests this behavior and even uses the word "hate" in many translations.

Psalms 50

9 I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,

This passage is basically saying that God doesn't need us and there is nothing we can do for God that he really needs or that he already doesn't have authority over. God doesn't need to hear pre-written prayers from us spoken without meaning he doesn't need anything from us. What he wants is a hearts and our true desire for him.

The Bible teaches us the Jesus Christ is the only way not a prayer or some words spoken in the right order. These things do not save us nor do they put us in a better position with God. Nothing we do can make us more deserving of God no matter how eloquent or well though out the words may be. We all come to God in the same way which is sinful and because of the saving blood of Jesus Christ we become acceptable to God and can continually partake of his fellowship.

We need to do all things in worship toward God and if you speak something but have no thought or desire of its meaning than it too is meaningless. Love is a verb, meaning an action, it is not just something we say but something we need to actively participate in.

I don't want to discredit liturgy. liturgy helps us focus and calm our thoughts. It helps us direct our mindset into something that is more receiving of the Holy Spirit as long as we do it with heart. However if we just speak it without any thought to its meaning than it is counter productive.

I would suggest it is a sin because it is not want God desires of us. Disobedience to God is what defines sin not a list of things that we should or should not do.

 

[DrBubbaLove]

Cannot speak for others, but in my own experience repetitive prayer is not about getting God to hear me, or giving God something He requires or needs from me, or getting God to do something for me, or trying to be “saved”, or finding Jesus, or making myself more deserving, or trying to put myself in a “better” position with God. Have very rarely seen it as a part of group worship. And in my experience most Catholics do this alone or at least as an individual more often than they ever do so in a group. It is a often a private thing and sometimes done silently to oneself.

I do find repetitive prayer to be helpful in shutting out the busy world we live in and helping me reach a quite place. It is from such a place we all make our individual petitions to God and listen. How we all get to our quite place may differ and hopefully we all use many different ways to get there.

Repeating prayers does not always work for me in getting to that place, but then I guess I could think of worse things I could be doing with my time than spending thirty minutes to an hour reciting a series of prayers to God. But even if I feel it not working for me, I cannot see how my doing it would be a sin.

On a different note, have often heard many Christians asking others to pray for them, repetitively, even to making a point of ending most conversations with such a request. Could that become a mindless habit, or at least not always be done with the same intent? I suppose it could but it would never occur to me to call such requests a sin, no matter how often they repeat it.

 

[Lisa*Lisa]

I have no idea why it would be considered a sin. I believe that repeating prayers, like a chant, does raise your level of consciousness, like a form of meditation. It clears your mind of clutter and causes a kind of positive focus. Nothing wrong with that at all.

 

[127.0.0.1]

Deleted.

 

[DamianWarS]

I have no idea why it would be considered a sin. I believe that repeating prayers, like a chant, does raise your level of consciousness, like a form of meditation. It clears your mind of clutter and causes a kind of positive focus. Nothing wrong with that at all.

it is not repeating prayers that are a sin but instead mindlessly repeating prayers. Does God want us to mindlessly repeat prayers or mindlessly do anything for that matter? I would suggest no, because when we mindlessly repeat a prayer we then turn the prayer into a god and it is more about saying the words and becoming one with the words than it is about communion with God and becoming one with God. If you chant prayers to seek a positive focus or to declutter your mind but have no focus in God then the prayer is an idol and you are not praying to God but you are praying to a prayer. There are many things I can do that can help me declutter my mind and even help me think more positive but that doesn't automatically make them right. I'm not suggesting this is how you are praying but just speaking in general terms.

God has a plan and direction for our lives, that plan is not just a monthly goal to achieve but instead it is there to direct every breath we take and every moment in our lives. There isn't a moment in time where God is not with us and does not desire from us His Will. When we make a choice to go against this plan, even if it's ignoring it for a fleeting moment or the slightest of hesitation, we are sinning. There are a lot of moments during the day and I would expect that most of us sin far more than we can count in a given day no matter how "spiritual" you think you are.

This is why grace is so important. Not because grace forgives us. Forgiveness is a great thing but it is not the main focus of grace. God is perfect and without sin and something with sin cannot be in the presence of God. God cannot become a part of it and it cannot become a part of God. But through grace we are made acceptable and pure and sinless so that we can now be in the full presence of God not just when we feel in the mood but for every moment. We can now worship in his full presence and this is what grace is for, forgiveness is just a byproduct.

 

[jellybean99]

Is mindlessly repeating a prayer a sin?
I read that it was

Is mindlessly repeating a sin a prayer

You are correct. Jesus warns against this:
Matthew 6:5"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. 6But 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. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Were you perhaps thinking of what many call "The Lord's Prayer?" This is a pretty thorough explanation of the "The Lord's Prayer" as a model for praying.
The Purpose of Prayer

In the audio version, John MacArthur does an excellent job [FONT=&quot]of using the Lord's Prayer to explain the purpose of prayer, the paternity of prayer, the priority of prayer, the program of prayer, the plan of prayer, the provision of prayer, the pardon of prayer & finally the protection of prayer.

A copy at eBay can be had for less than $5, if anyone's interested.
[/FONT]

 

[Armistead]

I think the bible is clear, repeating prayers over in over in public as a act of holiness is not holiness, if it just seeks to gain attention. When one is alone, I don't know that it benefits, but I see no harm in it. It may just be to get the mind right. Sometimes when I get very tired, I end up just saying the same thing over and over. I may want to stay up and pray a long time, but just stumble through it. Some may do it just to keep from thinking other thoughts...just don't do it for man.I do wonder about some of the prayers of the Catholic Church where they just repeat the same thing over and over....forgive us sinners.....not sure why.

 

[daydreamergurl15]

I don't know about it being a sin but I do know that it can be very detrimental to your faith. If you are mindlessly praying for something and have no confidence that it will come true and all you are giving God is something on automatic pilot, I can't see how you will continue to grow close to Him. One of the things prayers do is communication with God, if you are not communcating than you are not laying your burdens to Him. He can't give you His peace if you continue holding on to your worries and problems.