I Am a Pharisee of Prayer

Jesus loves every human being who has ever lived or will yet live on the earth. He paid for the sins of every single individual, including yours and mine. Therefore, I believe He loved every scribe and Pharisee. He had nothing good to say, however, about the things the scribes and Pharisees did, particularly in the name of religion. An entire chapter in the book of Matthew in the New Testament records Jesus's diatribe against the practices of the religious leaders in His day. Among the woes He pronounced is this statement: 

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
--Matthew 23:14

It is not the length of our prayers that matter but the intent and the genuineness of our communications with God. Long or short, a prayer for show -- not to speak to God but to impress the people around us -- is hypocrisy and unacceptable to God. Our Father hears every prayer, but with some prayer He is not well pleased.

I confess I struggle when I am called upon to offer a public prayer in a church meeting. Because of my nature, I instantly fret about how well my prayer will be accepted by the people listening. I want to come up with something that reflects the topic of the meeting or the concerns of those who will hear my prayer. 

I require great concentration and a fair amount of inner coercion to talk myself off that ledge of self-consciousness and fear and to prayer from my heart instead of from my head -- to pray to God for the people instead of to the people. 

Sadly, I sometimes think I am a Pharisee at heart. :-( When I calm my inner thoughts enough to hear the Holy Spirit, I can offer a sincere prayer. I admit, however, that most of the time I fail. I am grateful for forgiveness. 

Use Not Vain Repetitions

Before giving the example we know as The Lord's Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, the most oft-repeated prayer in the Christian church, Jesus warned about repetitive prayers with these words:

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

Jesus loved to pray to communicate with His Father. It is written in several places that He went alone to pray. A few of His public prayers were recorded in the New Testament, and more of His prayers are found in the Book of Mormon. What I have learned from the above verse in particular about prayer is that to be effective, prayer must be heartfelt and meaningful. We may need to pray frequently and repeatedly as we seek a particular blessing or an important answer or as we face a long trial. Frequent, even constant, prayer is a balm to the soul. 

Prayers become vain (useless) repetitions, however, when we say the same things over and over without faith or real intent. We can find ourselves using vain and repetitious words and phrases if we are not careful. Bless the refreshments for our nourishment. Take us home in safety. Bless those who were not here this week that they will be able to come next week. When we repeat empty phrases, the Lord is not pleased. Nothing is wrong with blessing our food, asking for protection, or praying for the welfare of others. In fact, we are commanded to pray for such things. Effective prayers that reach the Lord's ears, however, must be thoughtful, intentional, genuine, and faith-filled.

I had such a prayer with my grandson just last night. His dad had been hurried to a local emergency room to attend to complications from a recent medical procedure. My grandson was home alone and feeling shaken and worried about what would happen to his dad. I was on the phone with this young man to keep him company as best I could from seven hundred miles away when he expressed his feelings of concern and sadness. I said we should pray for his dad, and he promised he would pray that night before going to bed. I suggested we could pray for him right then and there, even while we were on the phone together. He didn't need to wait for bedtime to pray.

He agreed, and I offered a simple, sincere prayer for healing for his dad, strength for his mom, and comfort for him at this stressful time. I had prayed for these things many times for this beleaguered family, but with my worried grandson present with me on the phone, it was a new and fresh prayer experience. 

After the prayer, we visited about school and other topics. A few minutes later, he said, "Papa, I think the prayer worked. I feel better now."

"Yes," I replied, "the Holy Ghost as the Comforter can help you feel better any time you are worried. You just ask, and God will send Him to help you."

His dad and mom came home a few hours later, the medical problem under control. Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers.