Jesus singled out just a few things about human prayer to criticize. One is a tendency to rely on words themselves.
And 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. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him (Matthew 6:7-8).
“Empty phrases” is also translated as “meaningless repetition” (Matthew 6:7). Apparently some people thought then, as now, that enough words would impress God. Often these words are traditional phrases—chants and incantations— repeated over and over.
What irony, to turn Jesus’ prayer into what He forbids!
Many today have come to treat the “Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13) in this way—as a formula to be recited again and again. Some can do this thinking about what they are saying, but many slip into a mindless habit of mumbling the familiar words that hardly touch the heart. What irony, to repeat these same words thoughtlessly, turning them into the very thing Jesus warns against!
This pattern may be more obvious in religions built on ritual and rote. But we would do well to think about repetition in our personal prayers such as at the dinner table and at bedtime. Are our prayers at the dinner table always the same?
Some may be able to say repetitive prayers with true feeling. But human nature tends to turn continued repetition into rote. That is, the familiar words keep coming out, but they no longer engage the heart—the mind and the emotions. That is why Jesus warned against vain repetition. His own prayers were fresh, original and relevant, always offering to His Father His most thoughtful, most heartfelt prayers.