Expert: Sal - 12/18/2005

Question
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Followup To
Question -
why catholics pray repeatedly over and over? it is really biblical? What is the Holy Rosary? Is it really biblical?
Answer -
Dear William:

The rosary is a meditative prayer that focuses on the events in the lives of our Lord and his mother. The Apostles' Creed, that begins the rosary, is a summary of the great mysteries of the Christian faith. The Our Father or Lord's Prayer was taught by our Lord (Matthew 6:9-13), and the Hail Mary is taken from the Gospel According to Luke (1:28, 42, 43).

Catholics repeat prayers as do all Christians. If one says the Lord's Prayer twice it is repetitive prayer. What does it matter if the prayers follow each other immediately or if there is a day or a week between them? If the prayers are sincere God will be pleased no matter how much time is between the prayers. It may be informative to know that time means nothing to God. “In the Lord's eyes, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years are as a day” (2 Peter 3:8, c.f. Psalm 90:4).

The practice of repeating prayers in close succession is biblical. Jesus prayed using repetition. “He left them again, withdrew somewhat, and began to pray a third time, saying the same words as before” (Matthew 26:44). Jesus also taught us in a parable to pray in repetition and that those prayers would be effective (Luke 18:1-7). St. John saw repetitive prayer taking place in heaven. “Day and night, without pause, they sing: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. He who was, and who is, and who is to come!'” (Revelation 4:8). Every time that this prayer is said the 24 elders pray, “O Lord our God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power! For you have created all things, by your will they came to be and were made!” (Revelation 4:11). So to pray repeatedly is biblical.

Thanks for the question, William. If I can be of further help please let me know.

Have a Merry Christmas,
Sal


MATTHEW 6:5, this is what our Lord Jesus Christ says—

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.”

Here, our Lord Jesus Christ is teaching the Christians that, whenever they pray, they must not do what the hypocrites do. These hypocrites are fond of standing as they pray in synagogues and street corners because they want to be seen by people. Please, bear in mind that the main issue here is, they pray “to be seen by other people.” And for this reason, Jesus Christ forbade His Christian followers to pray to pray if being seen by others. Otherwise, they will not merit any reward from God. Christ said, “Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.”

In praying, our Lord Jesus Christ prescribed a definite manner, which must be followed by the Christians. This is written in Matthew 6:6—

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

It is clear that Christ is commanding us to pray in secret, and the only parties that must know about is are God and the suppliant.

This is the reason why, we can say that, what most of the religious organizations today are doing is wrong, especially those who have radio and television programs. They pray while in front of a television camera. That is a clear manifestation of their hypocrisy. In other words, if praying, while standing up, in synagogues and street corners is already against the will of God, what more if you are going to pray over radio and television.

KING JAMES VERSION
ECCLESIASTES 5:2
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.  

KING JAMES VERSION
MATTHEW 6:8
Be not ye therefore like unto them:  for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of,  before ye ask him.  

i think it is not biblical.  

Answer
Dear William:

If you are correct that repetitive prayer is unbiblical, why does Jesus employ repetitive prayer in the Garden of Gethsemani (Matthew 26:36-44)? Why is St. John shown repetitive prayer in heaven (Revelation 4:8-11)?

If prayer is only to be in secret, why do the Apostles, Peter & John, lead a very unsecretive prayer. “All raised their voices in prayer” (Acts 4:23-31). Please note that God affirmed this type of open, vocal prayer. “The place where they were gathered shook as they prayed. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God's word with confidence” (v. 31). St. Stephen prayed aloud as he was being martyred. “As Stephen was being stoned he could be heard praying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit'” (Acts 7:59). When it was decided by St. Peter that Judas' apostleship was to be filled, the Apostles prayed aloud before 120 men. “Then they prayed: ‘O Lord, you read the hearts of men. Make known to us which of these two you choose…” (Acts 1:24-25). St. Paul did not have a problem with making his prayers very public. He many times wrote down what he was praying for so that other might know. For example, “I continually thank God for you…” (1 Corinthians 1:4). “I give thanks to my God every time that I think of you-which is constantly, in every prayer I utter-rejoicing, as I plead on your behalf” (Philippians 1:3-4). “My prayer is that your love may more and more abound, both in understanding and wealth of experience” (Philippians 1:9). “We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in our prayers for you” (Colossians 1:3). “…we have been praying for you unceasingly and asking that you may attain full knowledge of his will…” (Colossians 1:9). Notice that the examples from Colossians say "We" indicating that Paul and others had been praying out loud so that he would know what they were all praying for. No evidence from the Bible or from early Church history would lead one to conclude that Christians should only pray silently.

What made the prayers in Matthew 6 offensive was not that they were offered in public, but that they were offered with insincere hearts. The hypocrites that Jesus was speaking of were praying to be heard of men. It is not that prayers may not be heard by others, but that the prayers must never be offered for the purpose of being heard by others.

Why stress such a minor issue? Whether one prays silently or aloud is not a salvation issue. This reminds me of the Seventh-day Adventist church that raises a minor, non-salvation issue, 7th day Sabbath keeping, to undeserved importance.

Thanks for the follow-up.

God Bless You,
Sal