In praying, do not babble like the pagans

Conversation in love is never just words to one another. We hear, “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them.! " (cf. Mt 6: 7). How can we reconcile the whole mass of prayers addressed to God with these words of Christ?

First, let us consider the meaning of the above words of the Gospel. Let us start with what is definitely not mentioned in it. Well, the Lord Jesus is not going to discourage us from long and persistent prayer. After all, it was he himself who spent whole nights in prayer (cf. Lk 6:12; 5:16; 9:18; 11:1; Mt 14:23; Mk 1:35). On the other hand, he taught us many times that we should be persistent in prayer. One of the parables in which this instruction is found, the Evangelist begins as follows: “Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary” (cf. Lk 18: 1). In the parable itself, as in another parable on this subject (cf. Lk 11: 5-8), Christ the Lord tells us to bother God with our prayers. Following him, the apostle Paul says: "Pray without ceasing" (cf. 1 Thess. 5:17).

So, what is this “babble” in prayer that deserves a condemnation of the Lord Jesus? The two most important elements of the answer to this question are found in the Gospel text itself. The Lord Jesus says: "They think that they will be heard because of their many words." In short, their prayer does not flow out of love, it is not imbued with trust in God. They have a magical mentality, some unwise belief that the words of prayer are a kind of currency with which you can get from God things that we care about. Moreover, behind such a prayer there are false notions about God, some naive notions that we need to inform Him about our needs. In the meantime - Christ the Lord himself says - " Your Father knows what you need before you ask him" (Mt 6: 8). These false images of God were mocked by the prophet Elijah when the priests of Baal tried to force his idol to listen to them: " Call louder, for he is a god; he may be busy doing his business or may be on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened! " (1 Kings 18:27). Indeed, the priests of Baal " They called out louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears according to their ritual until blood gushed over them... (…) But there was no sound, no one answering, no one listening.” (cf. 1 Kings 18:28 -29).

The true God is completely different. Yes, not every prayer comes to God. But if a prayer does not come to God, it is not because God does not hear it and you have to call to God louder or longer. The prayer that comes from a dirty heart does not come to God, especially if a person does not even yearn for change. God, of course, hears this prayer, but turns away from it: “When you spread out your hands, I will close my eyes to you; Though you pray the more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood! Wash yourselves clean!” (cf. Isaiah 1:15-16)

Thus, a Christian often prays to God: " LORD, let my cry come to you!" (cf. Ps 102: 2). This prayer means: "Lord, purify my heart, fill me with love for You, because only then can my prayer be accepted by You". For this reason, persistent prayer is so precious in God's eyes. After all, God is not a tyrant who is amused by the fact that someone is dependent on him and who is reluctant to hear a request because he likes to be asked for a long time. Persistent prayer is needed for us, not for God. During prayer, man opens himself more and more to God's love and receives understanding of His will. In general, prayer brings you closer to God - not automatically, of course, but in accordance with the laws of love. So, if I pray, but in fact I am closed to God and to His holy will, it takes time for a prayer to pierce through my heart and become a true prayer. That is why I should pray with perseverance, I should, in a way, annoy God with my prayer.

Love is the soul of prayer. This sentence perhaps best summarizes Jesus' teaching on prayer. Therefore, there are several things in prayer that are more important than the words conveyed in it. The words of my prayer are, of course, something very important - in the sense that it does not matter what words I bring to God - but there are at least three more important things in prayer.

I will try to show them, starting with the most popular term of prayer, that it is a conversation between man and God. Well, the condition without which the conversation cannot even take place is establishing a connection with another person, the presence of that person. And this is the first thing that is undoubtedly more important in prayer than words: to be in the presence of God, to be as loving one. Sometimes the closeness of a loving God is so intriguing to a person that he does not need any words: I am simply in His presence and I just wish that He would deign to penetrate to the end every cell of my body and my whole. Even though I do not say a single word to God then, it is undoubtedly a real prayer.

If I am with the one I love, however, I would like to talk with him. Well, even in an ordinary conversation, it is more important to listen than to speak, and what about talking with God! It is not even proper to stand in the presence of God and chatter immediately what I have to say to Him. Maybe God would also like to tell me something? Therefore, prayer needs to be quiet and open our spiritual ears. Listening to God's voice is therefore also true prayer, even if I, for my part, are not talking with God yet.

There is a third thing in prayer that is more important than the words that I bring to God. After all, prayer is a conversation with God in love. Conversation in love is never about communicating only words to each other. It does need words, but when I talk to the person I love, I would like to convey much more than words, in fact, I would like to communicate myself. This also applies to prayer. Words are an extremely valuable tool of prayer, but I should also try to speak to God through my actions, my life attitude, and ultimately - myself.