“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.” – Matthew 6:7

A story is told of a brother from Nigeria who was requested to bless the lunch during a workplace bonding workshop.

He offered a ‘powerful’ prayer lasting ten minutes, which included binding demons and poisons in the food, thanking God for the seed, the soils and the rains and also blessing the farmers, the market vendors, the cook and the people who served.

By the time the prayer ended, some people had already given up and started eating.

“When you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do,” our Lord admonishes His disciples.

In some other versions, the word ‘heathen’ is translated as ‘pagans’ or ‘gentiles’ or ‘people who don’t know God.’

That implies that such people also do pray (and Jesus does not condemn them) but He suggests that the prayer life of the Children of God should be markedly different from that of the non-believers for simply do it for a show.

Years ago, when I taught about prayer, someone asked me if the prayers in the ‘Book of Common Prayer’ are recommended for Christians today.

Well, the prayer book was first published in England way back in 1550 and remains an important resource for the Anglican community worldwide.

It’s personal and indeed the liturgical prayers have been and remain a great blessing to billions of Christians for more than 470 years.

However, from where I sit, I would think that a person who prays for hours using “vain repetitions” is not any different from the religious fanatic who believes that the only prayers that God would hear are those that are read from a prayer book.

Simply put, to pray is to commune with God, not much different from how a daughter would commune with her dad.

I mean, what would you think if you visit a man’s home and you find his daughter literally screaming, weeping and groveling on the ground before him while asking for food?

You would instantly believe that there is something wrong with the father or the daughter or both.

In other words, the ‘how’ of prayer is not as important as the sincere intention behind it.

To pray is to verbally express thoughts and feelings to God.

As is the case with communion with our loved ones, prayer should not follow a specific formular or pattern.

It can involve spoken words, silent meditation, groaning, singing, dancing, or even simple contemplation.

As our Lord teaches in our meditation verse today, prayer is not a matter of ‘if’; rather, it is a matter of “when” – implying that communion with God is mandatory for every child of God.

Also, effective prayer is not all about the “many words” as, our Nigerian brother probably thought.

Indeed, the most powerful prayers in the Bible were short, precise and to the point.

And you can make a powerful prayer while kneeling, walking, lying down, standing, sitting, etc because there is no ‘right posture’ for prayer.

In other words, the ‘how’ of prayer is not as important as the sincere intention behind it.

While the results of prayer can be instantaneous, the real rewards of sincere prayer are internal— deepening the spiritual relationship with God, transforming the individual, providing strength, changing perspective, or offering spiritual insights.

So, the ‘right answer’ to prayer may not always be what is expected, but rather what is needed for one’s spiritual journey.

That is the real essence of “the prayer of faith” because faith is the recognition of, and the committal of ourselves and our matters to, the faithfulness of God.