Prayers on Repeat

In the monotony of daily life, prayer can seem like a chore. We easily fall into the mundane where praying is more an afterthought than a necessity, and when we find ourselves mumbling prayers on repeat that seem to go unanswered, it’s easy for us to keep asking for the same things over and over again in what can feel like a perpetual state of hopelessness if we don’t get the responses we seek.

Matthew 6:7-8 reads, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.“

So what does that mean? Matthew 6:7-8 seems to forbid repetitive prayer. A quick internet or google search, especially at Quora University, will suggest that it means that God doesn’t like repetitious prayers, much like a mantra or formula. This is partly true. Jesus did lay out a formula on how we are to pray, for a specific reason. If we follow His guidelines, our prayers should remain sincere and not become vain and lifeless.

What Jesus is saying can be found in the next verses where He tells us HOW to pray.

Matthew 6:9-13 reads,

“9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.“

Jesus isn’t specifically requesting we use these same words when we pray, but He said after this manner, which means that this is a template to follow. The first thing Jesus said to do or say was to acknowledge the Authority and Godhead of the Father, giving honor to the Father and addressing Him with reverence and respect. The next thing Jesus said to do was to surrender to the Will of the Father and request that His Will be done.

Matthew 6:33 reads, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Seeking the Lord’s Will places what you want and need in the background as secondary to what GOD wants for your life. It is the place of surrender. Putting GOD’s Will first and seeking His Purposive Will and Master Plan for your life means that you are trusting in Him whole heartedly to take care of and supply all of your needs. After all, Jesus said as much in verse 8 of Matthew, chapter 6, when He informed us that the Father knows what we have need of before we ask Him.

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with repeated prayers, believing they go unanswered and possibly even unheard, so I keep asking for the same things. Career, financial stability and independence, restoration of credit worthiness, spiritual advancement, the wife I truly want, home ownership and strength to overcome challenges. I pray for healing. And I say the same prayer every night and even get frustrated and skip praying altogether when there seems to be no response from our Heavenly Father. This demonstrates a lack of gratitude and trust in GOD as He said He knows what I need.

If GOD knows what I need, do I even have to ask Him for it? If we are seeking the Will of GOD, and trusting in Him, we will find that supplying our needs is in His Will to do.

Philippines 4:19

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Matthew 6:33 says that if we seek the Kingdom of God and all its righteousness, all these things will be added. When we seek GOD’s Will, and put Him first, He does the rest. Praying, fasting, studying the Word, worshipping and blessing the Lord with honor and praise, and pushing forward in the Kingdom of God leads us to be so focused on Jesus that we are unaware that He is providing everything we have need of.

James 4:2-3

“2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

Is asking amiss the reason we don't get the responses we expect when we make our requests known to GOD?

2 Chronicles 6:37 reads, "Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;"

Daniel 3:29 says, "Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort."

Luke 23:41 reads, "And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss."

This word, amiss, is translated from the English to the Greek as the word kakós, 2560 in the Strong's Concordance, written in Greek as κακῶς - it is an adverb, pronounced as (kak-oce'). It means badly, evilly, wrongly, grievously, diseased.

It comes from the word kakos which means bad or evil in the widest sense, from Strong's 2556 kakós (an adjective, and the root of 2549 /kakía, "inner malice") – properly, inwardly foul, rotten (poisoned); (figuratively) inner malice, flowing out of a morally-rotten character (= the "rot is already in the wood").

Strong's 2556 /kakós is often a pronominal adjective (i.e. used as a substantive) meaning, "wickedness, inner evil."]

Asking for things from GOD with ill intent, from a place of malice, or with wickedness will render your prayers null and void, and GOD will not hear them. GOD will turn His ear from prayers that wish harm or evil on others, or are rendered from a morally rotten character. GOD will not hear the prayers of a wicked soul or an unrighteous individual.

Not a perfect person? GOD doesn't expect you to be. He makes provision for those who belong to Him, who are called according to His Purpose. And, GOD counts our faith and belief in Him as righteousness, making up for our massive deficiencies.

Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

Romans 1:17 "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."

Romans 4:3-5

"3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

What about the things we want versus what we need? Jesus says the following according to John 14:13 “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

What does it mean to ask in His Name? We can easily make the mistake that we can ask God for a Hummer EV, brand new, right off the transport truck or showroom floor, in the Name of Jesus, and He will do it. That’s not correct. Sounds good, but it’s not quite what Jesus is saying here. Let’s review the following scriptures for more context.

Exodus 9:16

“And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.”

Deuteronomy 18:19

“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”

Psalms 63:4

“Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.”

Matthew 18:5

“And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.”

Matthew 24:5

“For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”

Mark 9:41

“For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.”

By these scriptures and many more, it can be concluded that asking for something “in His Name” would result in the Lord being glorified. What we ask “in His Name” is for His sake, for His honor, and truthfully, for Him… on His behalf and in His stead. We cast out devils “in His Name.” We honor Jesus in doing for others “in His Name” - representing Him, as an ambassador, embassy or emissary working on behalf of Jesus. The things we ask for “in His Name” are for His benefit. These things either edify the Body of Christ or glorify the Son and bring Honor, Glory and Praise to the Lord which in turn Glorifies the Father in the Son.

If having a brand new Hummer EV parked in your driveway glorifies you and brings you a great deal of attention but doesn’t honor and glorify the Father and the precious Son of the most High GOD, you can expect that request is classified as “amiss” as indicated in James chapter 4.

Can God be glorified in your having the things you want? Absolutely, if you bring Him glory and honor and praise as a result of Him giving it to you, which is why GOD will try your heart.

Jeremiah 17:10

“I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.“

2 Chronicles 32:31

“Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.”

If giving you something you want will cause you to err, miss the mark, fall short of the Glory of God, or is contrary to His Purposive Will, Permissive Will or Master Plan for your life, He is within His Deified right to deny your request. If giving you something you want will result in you becoming puffed up and vain, stealing the glory and honor from Him by telling others how much you accomplished and what you did to obtain it on your own, even if GOD chooses to give it to you, He can just as quickly take it away to show you where you erred.

In GOD giving us the desires of our heart, it is an opportunity to bring glory, honor and praise to the LORD and bless His Name. The LORD God is the giver of good gifts, and He delights in giving us the things we desire in our hearts, as long as we ask with sincerity and love, and seek to bring Him the Glory He deserves.

Matthew 7:11 reads, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

James 1:17 reads, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

According to Psalms 37:4, all we need to do is make our Heavenly Father happy, and that starts with glorfying the Name of the LORD through praise, thanksgiving and through repentance. "Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

I truly hope this touches your soul and blesses your heart, filling your spirit with gladness, peace and warmth.