Prayer

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Matthew 6:7 NKJV

You are not heard for the length of prayer but for faith in prayer.

Notice the word “heathen”. Here, Christ is talking about people involved in idolatry. They believe if they repeat their prayer enough times that is what will get them heard. And so Christ is saying do not come with ungodly practices into your relationship with God. Do not import what the world does, do it “in the name of Jesus” and expect it to work in the kingdom of God.

Also, on that word heathen, it depicts a lack of relationship. So, in other words, Christ is saying do not pray like you do not have a relationship with God. When you repeat yourself x amount of times to be heard, you are acting as someone who does not have a relationship with God. Or when you have to fill a certain quota of prayer time to get heard, this is due to a lack of relationship. This tells me that even though we have a relationship with God, we can act as though we do not have a relationship with Him because of a lack of knowledge and a lack of faith. So, the basis of prayer that works is relationship. That is why Jesus says in every prayer, “Father,” first before anything else.

The secret to an effective prayer life is not to think of God as a deity (even though He is) but as a father. Do not pray to God – some distant gray haired guy with a beard who lives in the sky who you have to shout, holler, and do cartwheels to get his attention. Rather pray to your Father – the God who is near and who pays attention to your every word and is willing, able and ready to answer all your prayers.

The reason this is important is because when you think there is an amount of prayer that gets answers from God, your faith is no longer on the finished works of Christ but on your own ability to pray. There may be an amount of prayer needed to get answers from idols but not from our heavenly Father. When you believe there is an amount of prayer necessary to get answers from God, your faith is no longer in God but in your own ability to pray and to pray much. This will inevitably lead you to frustration.

But God doesn’t want you frustrated in your prayer life. He wants you rejuvenated, fulfilled, and above all, He wants your prayers answered. This is not to say do not pray long or that only short prayers are answered. No! You may pray long or short but let all your prayers be in faith. Prayer is not about technique as ungodly people believe. Prayer is about relationships. So, Jesus is saying, do not rely on techniques when it comes to prayer, rely solely on your relationship with God. When you do, His promise is answered prayer ALWAYS!