Matthew 6:7

7 "And when you pray, don't babble on and on like the pagans, who think God will hear them better if they talk a lot.

Matthew 6:7 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 6:7

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions
Saying the same things over and over again,

as the Heathens do,
as the worshippers of Baal, from morning till noon, ( 1 Kings 18:26 ) . This our Lord observes, to dissuade from such practices, because the Gentiles, who were odious to the Jews, used them, and the Jews were guilty of the same; had they not, there would not have been any need of such advice:

for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking;
as did the Jews, who, under pretence of "long prayers", devoured widows' houses; and with whom it is an axiom, that "everyone (hnen hlyptb) (hbrmh) , that multiplies prayer is heard" ^F8; and whoever prolongs his prayer, his prayer does not return empty; and he that is long in prayer, his days are prolonged ^F9: and, according to their canons, every day a man ought to pray eighteen prayers. Moreover, their prayer books abound in tautologies, and in expressing the same things in different words, and by a multiplicity of them.

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 T. Hieros. Taaniot, fol. 67. 3.
F9 Zohar in Exod. fol. 104. 4.

Matthew 6:7 In-Context

5 "When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites, who love to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners, so that people can see them. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already!

6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

7 "And when you pray, don't babble on and on like the pagans, who think God will hear them better if they talk a lot.

8 Don't be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 You, therefore, pray like this: `Our Father in heaven! May your Name be kept holy.