Heaping Up Empty Phrases

In times past, the church would gather on Sunday and go through a liturgy during her worship services. There would be recitation of previously-written prayers and creeds and things like that as a form of directed worship to God. Nowadays such things are almost unheard of. The average church-goer finds those types of services to be repulsive, unhelpful, unedifying, legalistic, ritualistic, soulless...you get the idea. They aren't entirely without precedent; in the past, those kinds of services and recitations and repetitions did become mere ritual without any kind of genuine affection for God or any real edification of the church body.

In fact, Jesus Himself speaks to this kind of thing in Matthew 6:7: "When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words." Now, that last phrase shows he's specifically talking about drawing prayers out for long lengths of time. But if those repeated phrases really are soulless and unedifying, if they are being said for the mere ritual of it, then they are empty phrases.

Does that mean, however, that we must never, ever pray previously written prayers? Can we never say any phrases we have previously used? Can we never quote anyone? Of course not. That would logically lead to the conclusion that we could never recite Scripture in prayer, and I'm sure we don't want to get to that conclusion.

The real issue is the heart.

What is the reason you recite those words? Is it because ritual saves? Is it because that's what you learned in your childhood? Is it because it's "just what you do"? Those are all bad reasons.

What if you recited those prayers or phrases because you actually meant them? What if they spoke to your heart and expressed what you meant to express in better words than you could come up with, or perhaps with the best words possible? What if those words were exactly what you wanted to say, previously stated by someone else? Can we quote God's words in our prayers when they express so clearly and fully what we want to say?

I'd answer, "Why not? Just so long as you actually mean those words from your mind and your heart."

Personally, I have a few phrases I like to use in my prayers sometimes. For example:

Our Father in Heaven. You may recognize this as the beginning of the Lord's Prayer. In my opinion, it perfectly expresses just who we are talking to in very few words. God is our Father. This means he has authority over us. But it also expresses his loving kindness for us, the love that the perfect Father has for his children. It also states that he is in heaven. He is our Heavenly Father. Why not start a prayer with this phrase? It's beautiful, isn't it?

Forgive me, for I have sinned. In the Catholic tradition of confession, I believe they are supposed to start their confession with this petition, then tell their sins to the priest. But if you ask me, it's a great way to end a confession in a prayer. You're asking for forgiveness. You have sinned. You are a sinner. It pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? And if you're a writer like me, you like to finish off with a good summary. There's nothing theologically unsound about the phrase. In fact, there's a Biblical quote similar to this: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" (Luke 18:13).

(I may add that that verse comes from the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. The tax collector speaks these words and feels the weight of his sin so much that he can't even bear to look up to God when asking for mercy. Saying that phrase brings that image to mind and reminds me of how I should feel about my sin. It seems to me, then, that the exact quote from the Bible itself would be better than the phrase I started with.)

In Jesus' name. This is a common one. It's also a commonly misunderstood one. Let me address them:

1. No, not tacking this on the end of your prayer is not like sending an envelope without a stamp.
2. No, God will not be obligated to grant your wish if you do tack this to the end of your prayer.

Here's the verse that this phrase originates from: "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14:13-14). What Jesus really meant, however, is that whatever you ask according to the will of God will be granted (1 John 5:14-15). I end my prayers with this because it's a way to remind myself what I really need to be praying for. It's causes me to look back and ask, "Do I really think that what I have prayed about is what Jesus would want?" It's sobering.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Yes, I know that the Lord's Prayer doesn't actually end with this phrase. I know that it's actually a quote from 1 Chronicles 29:11. But what better way to end a prayer? I see absolutely no reason not to finish a prayer with this verse. It puts God in his place and me in mine. In fact, I'll quote the full verse from the ESV, because it's different from the commonly-quoted phrase and the whole verse is quite amazing:

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.

Powerful, right?

Now, I'm not trying to tell you you must recite particular phrases in your prayers. I'm not trying to set a precedent or anything. I just know that my generation is dead-set against anything that may even remotely be thought of as "ritual." And like I previously said, that's not without good reason. But if there is real beauty in the phrases, and if the heart is moved to worship from them, or if one really means the words said, why not say them? One must obviously be careful that they don't become mere ritual, of course, and perhaps one would need to avoid them because they are inclined to such practices. But if you aren't, why not?