Jesus's Teaching on Prayer, Part 2
Don't Be Like the Pagans
Matthew 6v7-8
12th September 2025
This is our second study of Matthew 6v5-15, in which Jesus teaches us how to pray. In verses 5-6, He told us not to pray like hypocrites. Now He tells us not to pray like pagans.
Matthew 6v7-8
"And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will
be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
Many non-Christian religions involve the recitation of prayers, as if those prayers are magical and have power in themselves. That's why some Buddhists use prayer wheels. They spin their wheels as a way of praying, and believe that each revolution of each wheel has some sort of effect. However, we Christians know, as I wrote last week, that prayers do not work. The truth is that God works, in response to our prayers. He doesn't need us to mindlessly repeat the same prayer over and over. Prayer is a conversation with God. It's not an incantation.
Let's begin by pointing out what Jesus is not saying. He's not saying that when you've prayed about something once, you mustn't pray about it again. You can express your heart to God as often as you need to. But God is not waiting for you to pray about the same thing often enough to earn a response. He isn't sitting in heaven with some kind of counter, like an umpire in a cricket match, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, over". God isn't thinking, "Well he's only prayed this prayer 49 times. When he prays it the fiftieth time then I'll answer him." God is not like that.
It may well be that something burdens my heart so much that I'll pray for it every day for months and months, many more than 50 times. However, I'm not doing that to twist God's arm; I'm doing it because the subject of the prayer still burdens me. There are people I love dearly who are unwell, and I've been praying for them for a very long time indeed.
Jesus tells us not to think like pagans. Pagans, He says, think they will be heard because of their many words. They think each of their prayers earns credits with God, and the more words they use, and the the more often they repeat themselves, the more God will do what they want. That's why they keep on babbling, either praying any old thing that sounds "spiritual", or repeating the same prayer over and over without thinking about what they're saying.
We Christians shouldn't think like this, because we don't believe a gospel of works. We shouldn't imagine that, "If I'm spiritual enough, and good enough, if I tithe enough and pray enough and if I nag God about this one thing enough, then He'll do it, because I'll have earned it."
God will do what God will do. He loves to respond to our prayers but He's not saying, "You've only prayed this long, you haven't prayed that long." We haven't got to earn brownie points with God. God loves us. We believe a Gospel of grace. God loves to answer our prayers.
You're not heard because of [your] many words. Sometimes, we have to pray for a long time before we feel we're unburdened our hearts to God, but God heard us the first time. Indeed, "Your Father knows what you need before you ask him." We can pray about anything for as long as we feel the need to pray, but praying for a long time, repeating the same words over and over again, doesn't impress God. He doesn't object, He doesn't tire of hearing His children talk to Him, but you don't need to inform Him because He knows, and you don't need to remind Him because He hasn't forgotten, and you don't need to persuade Him because He wants to answer your prayers.
God wants us to spend a long time in prayer, but we should spend that time speaking to Him, and listening for His voice, praying for anything that's on our minds, simply, honestly and trustingly. No Father wants his children to try to get what they want from Him by endlessly repeating what they think he wants to hear.
The key to prayer is to remember that God is your heavenly Father. Some of us have had bad fathers, so this is hard for them, but every good father loves his kids to come and talk to him and tell him what's on their minds. God is like that. He likes you to tell Him the truth, honestly and simply. God hears your prayers because He loves you, and because you're being honest with Him.
God hears our prayers when they're truly offered in a spirit of prayer, not in a spirit of showing off, or lecturing others, or trying to manipulate God, or to wear Him down, or anything else. Let us genuinely, honestly, trustingly, humbly, communicate our hearts to our heavenly Father. Then our heavenly Father, being the perfect Father, will respond.