Prayer Practices to Avoid in Scripture and Tradition

As we approach the throne of grace, we are reminded in Matthew 6:7-8 that our prayers should not be like the vain repetitions of the Gentiles, who think that they will be heard for their many words. Jesus teaches us that our heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask Him, and so we are not to use empty phrases or multiply words in our prayers, hoping to be heard by sheer volume or eloquence. Rather, we are to come to Him with simplicity and sincerity, as children coming to their Father, knowing that He delights to hear our prayers and grant our requests for His own glory and our good.

Similarly, in Luke 18:9-14, Jesus warns us against praying with a self-righteous attitude, like the Pharisee who thanks God that he is not like other men, boasting in his own righteousness and looking down on others. We are not to pray with a spirit of pride, thinking that our own merits or good works have earned us a hearing with God. Instead, we are to come to Him with humility and contrition, acknowledging our sin and our need for His mercy and grace, like the tax collector who beats his breast and cries out for God's forgiveness. As we pray, we are to remember that it is not our own righteousness that commends us to God, but the righteousness of Christ, which is ours through faith, as Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:9. By praying with humility and simplicity, we demonstrate our dependence on God's grace and our trust in His goodness, and we may be assured that our prayers will be heard and answered, not because of our own worthiness, but because of God's boundless love and mercy towards us.