And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Eph 5:19-20
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
The Jesus prayer, whether it is recited while accomplishing another task or during time devoted solely to meditating on the name of Jesus, is often repeated multiple times. This post will look at a few places where repetition is mentioned in the scriptures.
In the Old Testament, the book of Leviticus calls for a cleansed leper to be sprinkled with water seven times and oil to be sprinkled seven times before the Lord. On the day of Atonement, a young bullock and a goat are sacrificed to the Lord. The blood of both were sprinkled seven times on the mercy seat and then again seven times on the altar. Joshua circled the city of Jericho once for six days straight and then seven times on the seventh day before the walls fell. Elisha advised Naaman to dip himself seven times in the river Jordan in order to be healed of his leprosy. When Solomon consecrated the Temple to the Lord, the children of Israel sang Psalm 136 with its frequent repetition of "for His mercy endureth forever", and then again after they saw the glory of the Lord fill the Temple. The hymn that the three youths in Daniel sang when they thrown in the furnace repeated the phrase "And sing a hymn to Him, And exult Him beyond measure unto the ages.".
In the New Testament, we find Jesus commanding a cleansed leper to "go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded" that I referenced above. During the agony in the garden, Matthew writes that Jesus prayed to the Father three times "saying the same words". It was through perseverence that the syrophenician woman was granted by Jesus that the devil be cast out of her daughter. In Revelation, we are given a vision of four beasts who, in their worship of the Lord, "rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy...". Jesus also tells a parable of a widow who wins the favor of a judge by repeatedly coming to the judge, and when giving the Lord's prayer in Luke tells a parable of a man who gives his neighbor a loaf of bread because of his persistence in asking. The Apostle Paul also commands us to pray "always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" and to "Pray without ceasing".
Just as Christ taught the value of perseverence in prayer when teaching the Lord's prayer in Luke, He also gave a warning against "vain repetitions" when teaching the same prayer in Matthew. With the repetition that is commanded and used in both the Old and New Testaments, we can't understand this as an admonition against all repetition, so this must be understood as a warning against vanity in prayer. Prayer is not a magical formula where we simply mouth words and expect things to happen for us. Prayer is an encounter with the one to whom we are praying and must be done with faith in God and for His glory. This is why Christ condemned those who honored God with their lips and not their hearts.
Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee. I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
No comments:
Post a Comment