Day 304 - Repeat What Forms You

This article explores Jesus' teaching on "vain repetitions" in prayer, arguing that repetition itself is not the problem, but rather the intention behind it. It differentiates between repetition as formation, where the practice changes the individual, and repetition as transaction, where one attempts to influence God. The piece emphasizes that true spiritual repetition helps us return to core values and shapes our character, rather than being a means to earn God's attention.

Show Notes

I want to begin with something Jesus said about prayer that I have been thinking about lately.

In Matthew 6:7, Jesus says:

“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”

That phrase caught my attention: “Vain repetitions.”

Because repetition is actually a huge part of religious life. Christians repeat the Lord’s Prayer. Catholics pray the Rosary. Buddhists repeat mantras. Jewish worship includes prayers and passages that have been recited for generations. Muslims pray at prescribed times each day and repeatedly recite passages from the Quran. And even those of us who don't follow a highly structured form of prayer tend to repeat ourselves.

We pray for the same people. We ask for the same things. We use many of the same words.

So I started wondering:

Is repetition the problem?

And I don't think it is. In fact, repetition may be one of the most powerful tools we have for changing our lives. Think about almost anything you have ever learned to do well. You learned to walk through repetition. You learned to speak through repetition. An athlete repeats the same movement thousands of times. A musician plays the same scales again and again. We learn multiplication tables through repetition. We develop physical strength by repeating the same movements.

And our character develops in much the same way. We become generous by repeatedly practicing generosity. We become patient by repeatedly choosing patience. We become grateful by repeatedly looking for things for which we are grateful. Eventually, something we once had to consciously choose begins to become part of who we are. So repetition itself isn't the enemy.

Repetition is one of the primary ways human beings are formed.

And this is where I think Jesus' choice of words is important. He doesn't simply warn us about repetition. He warns us about vain repetition.

And then he tells us what makes the repetition vain:

“For they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”

In other words, the problem wasn't simply that these people repeated themselves. The problem was what they believed their repetition was accomplishing. They thought the quantity of their words somehow increased their influence over the divine. More words. More prayers. More repetitions. More likelihood that the gods would listen.

Prayer could become almost transactional.

If I say enough… If I pray long enough… If I perform the ritual correctly enough… perhaps I can produce the outcome I want.

And Jesus immediately challenges that idea.

In the very next verse he says:

“Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”

I think that is the heart of this entire teaching.

Jesus is saying:

You don't have to earn God's attention.

You already have it.

You don't have to overwhelm God with words. You don't have to discover the right formula. You don't have to accumulate enough prayers to move your request to the top of some heavenly scoreboard. Your Father already knows.

And yet, interestingly, Jesus doesn't say:

“So don't pray.”

He teaches them how to pray. And immediately afterward he gives them what we now call the Lord's Prayer.

“Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name…”

And Christians have repeated that prayer for nearly two thousand years. There is something almost ironic about that. Jesus warns us about vain repetition and then gives us one of the most repeated prayers in human history. But maybe that tells us something important.

The question isn't whether we repeat something.

The question is:

What is the repetition doing?

There is a profound difference between repetition as formation and repetition as transaction.

When repetition is formative, I am not trying to change God. I am allowing the practice to change me.

Imagine that I am anxious about something in my life.

And I pray:

“Thy will be done.”

Then ten minutes later the anxiety returns.

“Thy will be done.”

The next morning I wake up worrying about it again.

“Thy will be done.”

A week later I am still struggling.

“Thy will be done.”

I might say those words a hundred times. But I'm not saying them because I believe God needs to hear them a hundred times.

I need to hear them a hundred times.

The repetition isn't working on God. It's working on me. Every repetition becomes another opportunity to surrender. Another opportunity to trust. Another opportunity to bring my mind back to what I believe. And I think this is where we can learn something from religious traditions beyond our own as well.

In Buddhism, for example, mantras and other repetitive practices are often used to focus attention.

The wandering mind wanders. And the practitioner brings it back. It wanders again. And the practitioner brings it back again. The repetition provides an anchor. Christians have developed similar practices throughout history—repeated prayers, memorized Scripture, hymns, liturgy, contemplative prayer.

And there is something deeply human underneath all of them.

Our minds wander. Our intentions wander. Our priorities wander. Our behavior wanders. And sometimes we need something that repeatedly brings us back. So perhaps repetition can serve a very beautiful spiritual purpose. It can become a way of returning.

Returning to gratitude. Returning to humility. Returning to forgiveness. Returning to compassion. Returning to God. But there is also a danger.

Because something that begins as meaningful repetition can gradually become mindless repetition.

We can say words without thinking about them. We can perform rituals without remembering why. We can attend church without really being present. We can sing hymns while thinking about lunch. We can say “Amen” without having paid attention to the prayer. And perhaps even more dangerously, we can begin keeping score.

How many prayers did I say? How many days have I completed? How many chapters did I read? How many services did I attend? How many boxes did I check? There is nothing wrong with measuring a habit. Measurement can help us develop discipline.

But eventually we have to ask:

Is the practice producing the person it was intended to produce?

Because it is possible to complete the repetition while missing the transformation. I can repeat prayers about forgiveness while refusing to forgive. I can repeat prayers about generosity while remaining selfish. I can say “Thy will be done” while spending my entire life insisting upon my own will. I can pray “Give us this day our daily bread” while never noticing the person beside me who doesn't have any.

At that point, perhaps the repetition has become exactly what Jesus warned about. It has become vain. Not because it was repeated. But because the repetition stopped reaching the heart.

So I've started thinking about repetition in a different way.

Before repeating a spiritual practice, maybe we should ask:

Am I trying to change God, or am I allowing God to change me?

Am I praying because I believe enough words will produce the outcome I want? Or am I praying because returning to these words is slowly forming me into the person I am called to become? And this principle extends beyond prayer. If you want to become grateful, repeatedly practice gratitude. If you want to become generous, repeatedly practice generosity. If you want to become forgiving, repeatedly practice forgiveness. If you want to become compassionate, repeatedly notice the suffering of other people.

If you want to trust God, repeatedly practice surrender. Because what we repeatedly do eventually influences who we become. So perhaps the lesson isn't:

Don't repeat yourself.

Perhaps the lesson is:

Repeat what forms you.

Repeat what brings you back. Repeat what reminds you who you want to become. Repeat the words when you need to hear them again. Repeat the behavior until goodness becomes habit. Repeat the practice until the practice begins shaping your character.

But don't mistake repetition for righteousness. Don't turn spirituality into a scoreboard. And don't imagine that enough words will give you leverage over God. Because according to Jesus, we don't pray to a God whose attention must be earned through our performance.

We begin somewhere entirely different:

“Our Father…”

A Father who already knows. A Father who already hears. And perhaps that changes the purpose of prayer. Prayer is not simply an instrument through which we attempt to bend heaven toward our will.

Sometimes prayer is the place where, through returning again and again, our will is slowly brought into alignment with heaven. And maybe that is one of the greatest gifts of repetition. Not that by repeating something enough times we finally change God's mind. But that by faithfully returning to what is good, true, loving, and holy… we gradually allow our own minds—and eventually our lives—to be changed.

What is The 365 Commitment?

The 365 Commitment Podcast focuses on helping people make and keep life changing commitments.

This is day, 304. Repeat what forms you?
I want to begin with something that Jesus said about prayer that I've been thinking about a lot lately.
And Matthew chapter 6, verse 7, the famous Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, but when you pray, use, not vain repetitions as the Heathen do for, they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
That phrase caught my attention, vain repetitions.
Because repetition is actually a huge part of religious life.
Christians repeat the Lord's Prayer Catholic. Pray the rosary Buddhists, repeat mantras Jewish worship includes prayers and passages that have been recited for Generations Muslims. Pray at prescribed times each day and repeatedly recite passages passages from the Quran. And even those of us who don't follow a highly structured form of prayer, tend to repeat ourselves. We pray for the same people, we pray for the same thing. We use many of the same words.
So I started wondering is repetition the problem.
And I don't think it is, in fact, repetition may be one of the most powerful tools we have for changing our lives. Think about the almost, I think about almost anything you've ever learned to do. Well you learn to walk through repetition, you learn to speak through repetition and athlete repeats, the same movement, thousands of times a musician, plays the same scales again. And again, we learn multiple occasion, tables throughout a petition, we develop physical strength by repeating the same movements and are character develops all. So, in much the same way we become generous by repeatedly, practicing generosity, we become patient by repeatedly. Choosing patients, we become Grateful by repeatedly. Looking for things for which we are grateful, eventually, something we once had to consciously choose begins to become part of who we are. So repetition isn't the enemy?
Repetition is one of the primary ways human beings are actually formed, and this is where I Think Jesus is choice of words is important.
He didn't simply warn us about repetition. He warned us about vain repetition and then he then he tells us what makes the repetition vein.
For they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
In other words, the problem was not simply these people repeated themselves. The problem was that they believed the repetition. What they believe that the repetition was accomplishing, they thought the quantity of their word somehow increased their influence. Over the Divine, more words, more prayers, more repetitions more likelyhood that the gods would listen.
Prayer could become almost transactional.
If I say enough, if I pray long enough, if I perform the ritual correctly enough, perhaps I can produce the outcome that I want.
And Jesus immediately challenges that idea.
and the very next verse,
In that sermon. He says your father, knoweth, what things he have need of before he asked him,
I think that is the heart of this entire teaching.
Jesus is saying basically.
You don't have to earn God's attention.
Right. You already have it.
You don't have to overwhelm god with words. You don't have to discover the right formula. You don't have to accumulate enough prayers to move. Your request to the top of some Heavenly scoreboard. Your father already knows and yet. Interestingly Jesus doesn't say so then don't pray.
He teaches the people how to pray and immediately afterward, he gives them what we now. Call The Lord's Prayer.
Which is kind of ironic Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. We all heard this before.
And Christians have repeated that prayer for nearly 2000 years.
There's something really ironic about that Jesus warns us about vain repetition and then gives us one of the most repeated prayers in human history.
But maybe that tells us something pretty important.
The question isn't whether we repeat something that's not the question.
The question is this?
What is the repetition doing?
Think about that.
There is a profound difference between repetition as formation and repetition as transaction.
When repetition is formative. I'm not trying to change God. I'm allowing the practice to change me. Imagine that I am anxious about something in my life. Like I want a better job or I want more money or I want a new car, whatever it is and I pray, thy will be done.
And then 10 minutes later the anxiety returns. You really need something, you really want something, but the anxiety comes back and you repeat thy will be done.
The next morning I wake up and I'm worried again because that's the way humans are we just worried all the time and so I repeat once again thy will be done.
A week later, I am still struggling. I'm still feeling over. I'm still feeling anxious and so that I say once again, thy will be done. I might say those words 100 times, but I'm not saying them because I believe God needs to hear them 100 times.
I need to hear them 100 times.
The repetition isn't working on God, it's working on me. Every repetition becomes another opportunity to surrender, another opportunity to trust another opportunity to bring my mind back to what I believe. And I think this is where we can learn something from religious Traditions beyond our own as well. And Buddhism, for example, mantras and other repetitive practices are often used to focus your attention.
The wandering mind, wanders, and the practitioner brings it back it wanders again and the practitioner brings it back again, the repetition provides an anchor Christians, have developed similar practices throughout history. Repeated prayers, memorized scripture, hems liturgy contemplative prayer and there is something deeply human underneath. All of them.
Our minds wander are intentions wander, our priorities wander are Behavior wanders and sometimes when we need something that repeatedly brings us back. So perhaps repetition can serve a very beautiful and spiritual purpose. It can become a way of returning.
Returning to gratitude, returning to humility.
Returning to forgiveness returning to compassion.
Returning to God.
But there is also a danger because sometimes that begins as meaningful repetition, can gradually become mindless repetition.
We can say words without thinking about them, we can perform rituals without remembering. Why we're doing it.
We can attend church without really being present. We might sing, hymns or songs while not well, thinking about what we're going to have for lunch. We can say, Amen, without having paid attention to what was being prayed and perhaps, even more dangerously, we can begin to keep score.
How many prayers that I say? How many days have I completed? How many chapters did I read? How many services did I attend? How many boxes did I check? There's nothing wrong with measuring habit. Measurement can help us develop discipline. But eventually we have to ask
Is the practice producing, the person that was intended to produce.
Because it is possible to complete the repetition while missing the transformation.
I can repeat prayers about forgiveness while refusing to forgive.
I can repeat prayers about generosity. While remaining completely selfish. I can say they will be done while spending my entire life. Insisting upon my own will. I can pray. Give us this day, our daily bread while never noticing the person beside me or at the gas station, who doesn't have any
At that point, perhaps the repetition is become exactly what Jesus warned about. It is become vain.
Not because it was repeated but because the repetition stopped Reaching Your Heart.
So I started thinking about repetition and a completely different way.
Before repeating a spiritual practice, maybe we should ask.
Am I trying to change God or am I Allowing God to change me?
Am I praying because I believe enough words will produce the outcome. I want, or am I praying? Because returning to these words is slowly forming me. And to the person, I am called to become
and this principle extends Beyond prayer if you want to become grateful repeatedly, practice gratitude. If you want to become generous repeatedly, practiced generosity, if you want to become forgiving repeatedly, practice forgiveness, if you want to become compassionate, well then repeatedly notice the suffering of other people.
If you want to trust God repeatedly practice surrendering to God because what we are repeatedly do influences who we become. So perhaps the lesson isn't, don't repeat yourself.
Perhaps the lesson is repeat what? Forms you?
Repeat what brings you back, repeat? What reminds you? Who you want to become? Repeat the words when you need to hear them again. Repeat the behavior until goodness becomes a habit. Repeat the practice until the practice begins to shape your character.
But don't mistake repetition for righteousness, and don't turn spirituality into a scoreboard and don't imagine that enough. Words will give you leverage over a god.
Because according to Jesus, we don't pray to God whose attention must be earned through performance.
We Begin somewhere entirely different.
and Jesus said to start our father,
a father who already knows.
A father who already hears and perhaps that changes, the purpose of prayer. Entirely prayer is not simply an instrument through which we attempt to bend Heaven, toward our will
Sometimes prayers the place where through though, returning again. And again, our will is slowly brought into alignment with heaven and maybe that is one of the greatest Gifts of repetition.
Not that by repeating something enough times. We will finally change God's mind but that by faith returning to what is good and true loving or potentially even holy we gradually allow our own minds and eventually our own lives to be changed.