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. Matthew 6:7
When we read Jesus’ admonition to not “heap up empty phrases” we feel a tension with other texts in Scripture that tell us to “pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17)” and with persistence (Luke 18:1-8). Frederick Dale Bruner, as is so often the case, offers profound insights:
When Jesus discourages quantity in prayer is he not discouraging prayer itself? Here, too, however, in a spherical world, the shortest distance between two points is not a straight line. The paradox of prayer is that only when it is relieved of the necessity of much prayer will people experience the freedom for much, they will surprisingly, desire to pray more. (The Christbook, 289).
