Prayer is one of the greatest blessings that we have as Christians.  It should be a regular part of our lives.  A day should not go by that we do not approach God’s throne in prayer.

Luke 18:1 (ESV)
¹ And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Ephesians 6:17–18 (ESV)
¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (ESV)
¹⁷ Pray without ceasing,

While it is the will of God that we pray regularly, we should know that there is a right and wrong way to pray.  What are some wrong ways of praying?  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us two things that we should avoid when it comes to praying.

• We should not pray to be seen by men (Matthew 6:5)

Matthew 6:5 (ESV)
⁵“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

This is not a denouncement of public prayer.  Jesus and His disciples often prayed publicly (John 11:41, 42; Acts 12:5; 27: 37).  What Jesus is denouncing is praying to be seen and praised by man.  That is what God abhors.  Prayer must proceed from a proper heart.

Prayer is not a time to show off or to demonstrate how many scriptures we can quote.  The danger of praying to be seen by men is especially present when we pray in our assemblies.  The temptation to pray for prestige and to impress other members of the congregation is present whenever we do so.  So, a special effort must be set forth to get our minds completely off man and totally on God when we pray.

• We should pray without vain repetition (Matthew 6:7)

Matthew 6:7 (ESV)⁷ “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Praying to be seen by men is a misuse of the purpose of prayer because it gives glory to self instead of God. However, praying, whether it be publicly or privately, with vain repetition is a misuse of the nature of prayer because it is a mere recitation of words instead of an honest approach to God’s throne.  So then, we are not only to avoid hypocrisy in our prayers but also the use of vain, mechanical phrases as well.

Some need to realize that when it comes to public prayers, the quality of the prayer is not determined by the length.  Jesus said that the heathen thought that they would be heard because of their many words.  I am afraid that some brethren feel the same way.  The fact is, however, that some of the best prayers are brief and to the point.  With eight words Jesus prayed to God at the close of His earthly life, saying, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

Let us also remember that “vain repetition” does not refer to repeating oneself in prayer.  Repeating prayers is sometimes helpful and even required.  In Psalms 119 David used the words “teach me Thy statues” no less than 7 times.  Paul entreated the Lord to remove the thorn in his flesh three times (2 Corinthians 12:8).  Yes, we should be persistent with our requests to God (Luke 11:5-10).  Remember, it is not repetition that Jesus does not like, but vain repetition, which includes words that we speak out of habit instead of from the heart.

If you want God to hear your prayers and respond favorably, be sure to avoid these two things whenever you pray.  

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.