by Dante Peoples

Created on: August 20, 2009

The use of prayer books, and other objects for aids to pray dates back thousands of years. What though is the true function these aides serve...in short nothing. The purpose of pray is to have a heartfelt conversation with God...these aides or lack thereof are meaningless and do not serve a purpose. We have to ask ourself what does the Bible have to say when it comes to our prayers?

Who can answer that question any better than Jesus Christ...In the book of Matthew chapter 6 versus 7 he states "When praying, do not say the same things over and over again, just as the people of the nations do, for they imagine they will get a hearing for their use of many words. What did he mean? Consider: Within a warm, loving family, how would normal, intelligent children communicate with their parents? Would they utter the same words or phrases repeatedly, perhaps counting the repetitions with some device? The same is true with prayer, God knows our heart better than anyone and knows our troubles but he wants he even invites us to come to him in pray. Hence, if God disapproves our saying the same things over and over again, would not objects that are used as an aid to such constantly repeated prayers also be unacceptable? Accordingly, the Bible does not contain a single reference to a faithful servant of the true God ever using rosaries, prayer wheels, or other such objects in worship. The reasons become even clearer when we understand the true nature and purpose of prayer.

We all know the model prayer that Jesus taught us. Our Creator is not some aloof being or mystical force that must be appeased by incantations, rituals, or mantras. Rather, he is a loving Father, and he wants us to recognize him as such and to love him. Jesus was heartfelt in his prayer, we have example of Daniel who prayed 3 times a day, David who cried in prayer, and Jesus himself who prayed upon his death. These prayers were not from some book...it came from their hearts and the same is with us, how can some book that man wrote tell us what to say to God? How can a book tell what is truly in your heart? As in any relationship, we draw close to God by two-way communication. God speaks to us through the pages of the Bible...his written Word...wherein he reveals his activities, personality, and purpose for us. In turn, we speak to God by means of prayer, or worshipful address. Such prayer should, of course, be sincere and intimate, not formal and ritualistic.

Philippians4:6,7 says Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God; and the peace of God...will guard your hearts and your mental powers. Naturally, when we are anxious over something, we may pray about the matter often. But this is not the same as word-for-word repetition. As I said before about the examples of those who prayed, take time to read these prayers and put yourself in their shoes and feel what they felt, use those prayers as a model to help train you as you pray to God. Do you detect even a hint of impersonal, mechanical ritual in Jesus' words? Absolutely not! What a fine example he set for us! Yes, all who want to draw close to the true God should get to know him accurately as a person.

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