Buddhist prayer wheels are believed to repeat a prayer written on it every time it is spun. https://www.pexels.com/el-gr/photo/4133938/
[In group settings, I have often found myself praying in a way that tried to explain how I was praying to those I was praying with, rather than just talking to God like a friend. In essence, while I was praying, I was considering what others around me might think of my prayer. God’s Word warns against this.]
[Mat 6:5-7 NKJV] 5 "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men [caring what men think about them]. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who [is] in the secret [place]; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen [do]. they think that they will be heard for their many words…
[when we pray for the same thing over and over, we are telling God we didn’t believe He would answer our previous prayers. This is a prayer of unbelief! It is better to thank and praise God that He will answer our first prayer each time we bring the request up again. Praising God for what His Word promises, both confesses and re-enforces our faith in what we already prayed rather than ignoring or tearing up our previous prayers by praying them in vein repetition.
Some try to get as many people as possible to pray for an issue. This assumes that God is somehow moved by how many are praying for something. My cousin’s husband and I flew from California to Washington DC and participated in the 1997 Promise Keepers Stand-in-the-Gap national prayer event where an estimated 1-million Christian men gathered on the Capitol Mall to intercede on behalf of our nation. We prayed and fasted for racial, family and spiritual reconciliation in our nation and that God would heal our land (2 Chr 7:14). It was during the Clinton presidency and his impeachment proceedings. Three years later we did get 8 years of George W. Bush, but more than 20 years later (nearly a generation later), the revival we were hoping for has yet to really materialize and since then we’ve seen 9/11, the Great Recession, and a global COVID virus panic. Getting a million men to pray will not move God any more than one simple prayer of faith that stands on what God has already provided in His Word. The event was important in my personal prayer journey and I am sure in the journey of others. What I have learned since, is that it would have been much more effective if those 1-million men, including me, would have boldly gone out and spoke God’s Words of truth to everyone they knew, making disciples, and teaching them to observe all things. It’s God’s Word that ignites revivals, not us begging, and pressuring God for revival, thinking that somehow our great numbers will sway Him. A simple prayer of faith standing on God’s promises and then acting on that faith is all that is needed. We should be praying a prayer like this: “Father in Heaven, send more laborers for the harvest, that will speak His Words of truth to counter the lies of the Satan and set the captives free. Thank you for doing this.“ This is a much more effective prayer. So don’t pray repetitively or worry what others may think when you pray. Simply ask for what He already knew you would need—The promises of His Word.]
…[Mat 6:8 NKJV] 8 "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
[Jesus chastises the scribes in Jerusalem for their long winded prayers as well.]
[Mar 12:38-40 & Luk 20:45-47 NKJV] 38 Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, [love] greetings in the marketplaces, 39 "the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 40 "who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation."
[Luk 18:9-14 NKJV] 9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 'I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' 13 "And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise [his] eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' 14 "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified [rather] than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
[We need to remember to keep a humble heart while we pray. Again, not worried about what others may think about our prayer.It is not us doing the praying but the power of the Holy Spirit in us when we are standing on God’s Word and promises.It’s easier to have faith when you know it’s something God has already provided in His Word. It is submitting your will to His Word.That is a humble heart.]
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