Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Vain Repetitions
    Vain Repetitions
    Vain Repetitions
    Ebook59 pages44 minutes

    Vain Repetitions

    By F. Wayne Mac Leod

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    "When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do," said Jesus to His disciples in Matthew 6:7. This is given as a command by our Lord but there is much confusion over what He meant by "empty phrases" or "vain repetitions."

    The attempt of this brief study is to look at the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 6:7-8 in an attempt to understand what He meant by not heaping up empty phrases in prayer. This is not a study of prayer in general but rather a study of this one aspect of prayer. It is the authors goal to bring some clarity and application to this important command of the Lord Jesus.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherF. Wayne Mac Leod
    Release dateDec 5, 2014
    ISBN9781310627279
    Vain Repetitions
    Author

    F. Wayne Mac Leod

    F. Wayne Mac Leod was born in Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, Canada and received his education at Ontario Bible College, University of Waterloo and Ontario Theological Seminary. He was ordained at Hespeler Baptist Church, Cambridge, Ontario in 1991. He and his wife, Diane served as missionaries with the Africa Evangelical Fellowship (now merged with SIM) on the islands of Mauritius and Reunion in the Indian Ocean from 1985-1993 where he was involved in church development and leadership training. He is presently involved in a writing ministry and is a member of Action International Ministries.

    Read more from F. Wayne Mac Leod

    Related to Vain Repetitions

    Related ebooks

    Christianity For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      How to Spread the Gospel Like Wildfire

      Aug 19, 2019

      The Gospel spread like wildfire in the early church. For example, a single speech from Peter converted 3000 people (Acts 2:41), and after he gave a second speech, the number of believers totalled 5000 (Acts 4:4). In only a few decades, the Good News

      5 min read

    • Article

      A Scriptural Study Of Isaiah 6 Isaiah’s Calling To Be A Prophet Part Ll

      Nov 18, 2019

      In our previous article we looked at the picture starting to unfold in the book of Isaiah 6. This part of scripture is where the train of the robe of Abba Father filled the temple. If we continue in the vision that Isaiah saw, we read that the prophe

      3 min read

    • Article

      When Your Lamp is Trimmed

      Nov 19, 2021

      When Your Lamp is Trimmed
      4 min read

    • Article

      Hinds or Oaks?

      Apr 22, 2019

      Many times in studying the Word of Abba Father, and depending on what translation of the Bible we read, different pictures seem to present themselves through what God is trying to tell us, or so it appears. We get into all sorts of arguments and deba

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Parables Of Jesus

      Dec 30, 2022

      The Parables Of Jesus
      3 min read

    • Article

      Let’s Talk PRAYER

      Jun 24, 2022

      We pray for a variety of reasons: it is a form of serving God (Luke 2:36-38) and obeying Him (Phil 4:6-7). We pray to demonstrate our faith in God, but most importantly, because Jesus did it. Prayers not prayed will be prayers unanswered. If the Syri

      7 min read

    • Article

      The unredeemed REDEEMER

      Apr 5, 2024

      The unredeemed REDEEMER
      3 min read

    • Article

      Getting to Know God Jesus is God

      Nov 27, 2020

      The doctrine of the Trinity is what makes Christianity’s monotheism unique. Last month we began a three-part series on the Trinity. We noted how the Bible’s monotheism differs from the monotheism of Islam and Judaism. This month, as we continue to ex

      3 min read

    • Article

      Word Search

      Aug 26, 2022

      Word Search
      2 min read

    • Article

      A Scriptural Study Of Isaiah 6 Isaiah’s Calling To Be A Prophet Part L

      Oct 21, 2019

      So many times, we pray for an Isaiah 6 experience. A scripture well known to all of us. The experience where the train of the robe of Abba Father filled the temple, in a vision that Isaiah saw. The posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cri

      3 min read

    • Article

      10 Jewish Biblical Facts That Hardly Any Christians Know…

      Oct 28, 2022

      As a new believer in Yeshua (Jesus), I assumed I was no longer Jewish—that believing in this Jewish Man had nothing in common with Jewishness. However, after reading the New Testament, I was shocked to find out that it was a Jewish book, telling a Je

      3 min read

    • Article

      3 Points To Ponder On Compromise

      Oct 27, 2023

      In an ever-evolving world where values and beliefs collide, Christians often find themselves grappling with the concept of compromise. While taking a recent group of JOY! travellers to the seven churches of revelation in Turkey, I was once again conf

      2 min read

    • Article

      Word Search

      Jul 22, 2022

      Word Search
      2 min read

    • Article

      Ask Val

      Jun 16, 2023

      Ask Val
      2 min read

    • Article

      Thy Will

      Feb 1, 2024

      Thy Will
      4 min read

    • Article

      To Thine Eyes

      Feb 12, 2023

      To Thine Eyes
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Lost Language of Lament

      Jul 30, 2021

      The Lost Language of Lament
      3 min read

    • Article

      Water Into Wine

      Aug 25, 2023

      It was John who said (in chapter 21 of his gospel) that if all Jesus’ exploits had been recorded, the world would not have enough space for all the books that would have been written. This is an important observation by the “disciple whom Jesus loved

      3 min read

    • Article

      Did You Know?

      Apr 14, 2023

      “Burnt offerings” are mentioned numerous times in the Bible. The Hebrew word for “burnt” is “owlah” and the Greek word is “holokautoma”. It is from these words that we have the term “holocaust”. The name “Moses” means “drawn out”. Pharaoh’s daughter

      1 min read

    • Article

      CHARACTERS OF THE BIBLE Ezra

      Jul 22, 2022

      CHARACTERS OF THE BIBLE Ezra
      3 min read

    • Article

      Ask Val

      Jul 21, 2023

      Ask Val
      2 min read

    • Article

      Tuesday, December 3

      Oct 15, 2019

      WHEN MY THREE BROTHERS AND I were babies, our dad settled on a nickname for each of us. The names didn’t have any reasoning behind them, and a couple of my brothers’ nicknames were downright odd. As we grew older, Dad stopped using the boys’ nickname

      1 min read

    • Article

      Friday, October 6

      Aug 15, 2023

      ONE MORNING WHEN I WAS feeling particularly overwhelmed by financial obligations, I turned to Psalm 23, which has always given me great peace and encouragement. But this day, I was moved to do something I hadn’t done before. I read the familiar psalm

      1 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Vain Repetitions

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Vain Repetitions - F. Wayne Mac Leod

      Vain Repetitions

      An Examination of Jesus' Teaching about Empty Phrases in Prayer

      F. Wayne Mac Leod

      Light To My Path Book Distribution

      Smashwords Edition

      www.ltmp.ca

      Copyright © 2014 by F. Wayne Mac Leod

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licences for personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thanks for respecting the hard work of this author.

      The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2007

      A Special Thanks to the proof readers without whom this study would be more difficult to read:

      Diane Mac Leod, Sue St. Amour

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      Chapter 1 - As The Gentiles Do

      Chapter 2 - Many Words

      Chapter 3 - Heartfelt Repetition Versus Empty Phrases

      Chapter 4 - Perseverance, Wrestling and Empty Phrases

      Chapter 5 - Heartless Prayers and Empty Phrases

      Chapter 6 - Sinful Hearts and Empty Phrases

      Chapter 7 - The Seriousness of the Words we Speak

      Introduction

      7 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. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:7-8, ESV)

      The passage quoted above was spoken by Jesus. In this passage, He speaks about heaping up empty phrases when we pray. Jesus' words are translated in different ways by the various English translations of the Bible. Consider how the following translations deal with this passage:

      do not keep babbling like pagans (NIV)

      don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. (NLT)

      do not use meaningless repetitions as the Gentiles do (NASB)

      use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do (KJV)

      The word Jesus uses is the Greek word "battalogeó. Matthew 6:7 seems to be the only time this word is used in the New Testament. It comes from two other Greek words. The first is battos which refers to a person who stammers or stutters. The second is logos which is interpreted simply by word. Battalogeó" carries with it the sense of stuttering or repeating the same sounds over and over again.

      Let's look a little deeper into this phrase. Notice that Jesus speaks of empty phrases (ESV), meaningless repetitions (NASB) or vain repetitions (KJV). The words empty, meaningless or vain are significant. They tell us that the words or phrases being used are of no value. We will take time later to examine possible reasons why these words and phrases in prayer are of no value. For now, it is simply important that we note that the words Jesus speaks about here are unnecessary and have no purpose or place in the genuine prayer of the believer.

      Another point we need to see in these verses is that Jesus attributes prayers with empty phrases or vain repetitions to pagan Gentile religions:

      … when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do (Matthew 6:7)

      In saying this, the Lord is telling us that this form of prayer has no place in the Christian life. It is the model used in the unbelieving world but one that true believers should never use. In fact, notice that Jesus uses the words do not

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1