Matthew 6:7

[Kenzin]

KJV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."

NIV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words."

What exactly is this addressing? Is Chanting scripture like the Psalms a bad thing? I also write poetry.. Is it ok to chant poetry as a prayer? Or is it a big no?

 

[eleos1954]

KJV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."

NIV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words."

What exactly is this addressing? Is Chanting scripture like the Psalms a bad thing? I also write poetry.. Is it ok to chant poetry as a prayer? Or is it a big no?

The most eloquent prayers are but vain repetitions if they do not express the true sentiments of the heart.

Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

KJV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."

NIV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words."

What exactly is this addressing? Is Chanting scripture like the Psalms a bad thing? I also write poetry.. Is it ok to chant poetry as a prayer? Or is it a big no?

It’s saying words as if they were some kind of magical spell with no real thought or intent behind those words like you would do when you are talking to a normal person. The Lord is saying to talk to Him like you would a normal person and do not speak a lot of empty words as if you are mindlessly chanting a spell or something. The Lord said this close to His mention of the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is not something you mindlessly recite. You pray it as an outline in your own words personally.

 

[dqhall]

KJV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."

NIV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words."

What exactly is this addressing? Is Chanting scripture like the Psalms a bad thing? I also write poetry.. Is it ok to chant poetry as a prayer? Or is it a big no?

The pagans had stories about different gods. Their prayers were in vain, their gods were from their myths.

Here is an example of one: “Hear me, Silverbow, Protector of Chryse, Lord of Holy Cilla, Master of Tenedos, And Sminthian God of Plague! If ever I’ve built a temple that pleased you. Or burnt fat thighbones of bulls and goats– Grant me this prayer …”
-Iliad
Prayers of Ancient Greece

 

[com7fy8]

We need to answer to God, in prayer.

But repetitious praying might be intended to get God to answer to us.

 

[ewq1938]

KJV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."

NIV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words."

What exactly is this addressing? Is Chanting scripture like the Psalms a bad thing? I also write poetry.. Is it ok to chant poetry as a prayer? Or is it a big no?

G945
βαττολογέω
battologeō
Thayer Definition:
1) to stammer
2) to repeat the same things over and over, to use many idle words, to babble, prate. Some suppose the word derived from Battus, a king of Cyrene, who is said to have stuttered; others from Battus, an author of tedious and wordy poems.
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from Battos (a proverbial stammerer) and G3056
Citing in TDNT: 1:597, 103


Saying the same thing over and over is what we are not supposed to do.

 

[Tigger45]

Pagans by definition don’t pray to Yahweh making their prayers of no account=‘in vain’. Doubling down by repetition, is more for effect than of being efficacious.

 

[Carl Emerson]

KJV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."

NIV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words."

What exactly is this addressing? Is Chanting scripture like the Psalms a bad thing? I also write poetry.. Is it ok to chant poetry as a prayer? Or is it a big no?

The next phrase explains by way of contrast.

'Our Father' says it all...

Our prayers are to a living Father with whom we are in relationship.

This is contrasted with Pagan vain prayer to a 'god' of wood and stone.

 

[Acts29]

KJV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."

NIV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words."

What exactly is this addressing? Is Chanting scripture like the Psalms a bad thing? I also write poetry.. Is it ok to chant poetry as a prayer? Or is it a big no?

The other comments here are basically in agreement and good enough. I'll add my two cents. First, I don't think God is allergic to a long prayer, nor do I think He is impatient with His children. The keys here are about "vain" and "repetition." Repeating the same things over and over in prayer is essentially an admission of unbelief, thinking God didn't hear the first time. Prayers of unbelief are not really prayers, they are just words. Therefore, repetitive prayers without any faith account for nothing and are vain.

If you wrote some poetry as a prayer to God and it contains some repetition for poetic flow, I don't think for one second that God would offended. He is a great artist Himself. So it's really all about the intent of the heart and not so much a legalistic law.

 

[Tolworth John]

KJV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."

NIV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words."

What exactly is this addressing? Is Chanting scripture like the Psalms a bad thing? I also write poetry.. Is it ok to chant poetry as a prayer? Or is it a big no?

Jesus is talking about the practice of spending time in a ritual of praying, like saying the same prayer over and over and over again or in making increadible long prayers to compel God to do something for you.

How you pray is irelevant, as the spirit living in you knows why you are praying.
So if you find a poem expresses your feelings then use it.

 

[Shane R]

1 Kings 18:26-29 records in detail the Pagan ways of prayer which the Lord is condemning. In such rites the ritual itself is more important than the substance of it.

 

[Davy]

KJV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."

NIV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words."

What exactly is this addressing? Is Chanting scripture like the Psalms a bad thing? I also write poetry.. Is it ok to chant poetry as a prayer? Or is it a big no?

Lord Jesus pretty much told you, when He said, "for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking". He then said...

Matt 6:8
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.
KJV

Keep it simple and direct. If one is sincere in their heart when they ask Him for something, He will definitely know it.

 

[Kenzin]

So is meditating on Gods word and repeating a scripture to focus on it's meaning and you repeat that scripture over and over focusing on it's meaning absorbing it's spirit. That isnt prayer right? It's more of a meditation on attributes of God than a prayer yes?

 

[ViaCrucis]

KJV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."

NIV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words."

What exactly is this addressing? Is Chanting scripture like the Psalms a bad thing? I also write poetry.. Is it ok to chant poetry as a prayer? Or is it a big no?

No, it's not talking about chanting, singing hymns, or liturgical prayers. Jesus is talking about the incantations and invocations of pagan ritualized religious practice. We have examples of magical papyri and amulets used by pagans in the ancient world, where words, phrases, invocations, incantations were seen as having spiritual power to basically gain the blessing or protection of the gods. In some cases these are literally nothing more than literal babbling sounds, strings of incoherent vowels.

Jesus doesn't want us to have this way of thinking about prayer.

It's not about repetition itself--as in refrains, litanies, or other liturgical elements of worship--but in the vain repetition and babbling of pagan prayer.

I often pray the Jesus Prayer, a short prayer that goes like this: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." I pray it frequently, and often I do repeat the prayer several times. But this isn't what Jesus is saying we should avoid. What He is saying we should avoid is like if I were to begin to think that merely uttering these words, as a kind of incantation or invocation, I can barter and bargain with Jesus to get something for myself--blessings, protection, etc. But I'm not treating the holy name of Christ like some kind of magical incantation, I am calling to my mind the comforting name of the Lord, and praying for His mercy, recognizing myself as a sinner who depends on the Lord's mercy.

It's not magic, it's prayer.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[ViaCrucis]

1 Kings 18:26-29 records in detail the Pagan ways of prayer which the Lord is condemning. In such rites the ritual itself is more important than the substance of it.

This ^.

Btw, you said that so much better and more briefly than I did.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[pescador]

KJV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."

NIV Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words."

What exactly is this addressing? Is Chanting scripture like the Psalms a bad thing? I also write poetry.. Is it ok to chant poetry as a prayer? Or is it a big no?

My sense is that "prayers" said by repeating some formula without any applied thought, i.e., incantations, are meaningless. For example, if a priest tells you that repeating the "Hail Mary" chant over and over.

God wants us to engage our conscious minds when we communicate with Him.