Why Your Prayers Need Variety

I never think any of us arrive at a satisfactory prayer life. There is always room for improvement. I constantly see the need to improve my prayer life. I hope you do. No matter where you are, could you prioritize making some progress in your prayers?

Something that makes our prayers ineffective is praying repetitive, empty words.

To understand what this means, read Matthew 6:7-8.

7 When you pray, don’t babble like the idolaters, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words.  8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him.

Matthew 6:7-8

Jesus assumes that his followers will pray. He doesn’t start this passage by saying, “If you pray,” or “If you ever get around to praying.” He starts by saying, “When you are praying.” He assumes it. He expects it, but he also expects the prayers to be quality and not mindless ritual.

  • What do you think Jesus means when he says: “Don’t babble like the idolaters?”
  • What would that look like today?  
  • What would be the danger in praying “many words?”  

Babbling prayers are those that mutter through a ritual while neglecting the heart during it.

It means offering up words that we think need to be there because people have always had those types of words in there.

Why do we not have to impress him with our many words? Because he is our father. He already knows what we need.

Talk to God often, but you can change up what you talk about.

Prayer Evaluation

One indicator of our prayer life could be to listen to the way our children pray. Most likely, they learned from us.

  • Do they repeat a simple rhyme over a meal (not that that is bad, but it could get them and you in a rut)?
  • Could you finish their sentences while they pray?  
  • Is there any variety?

Decide today that you will change the way you and your family pray. Get intentional. Get creative. Add some variety and passion to your family’s prayer life.

Maybe you could begin by selecting different prayer points for every day of the week (ex. Sunday – church staff, Monday – family, etc.). You could take Christmas cards the family has received, put them in a box, and pull out one every morning to pray for a different family. There are so many ways you can make prayers more engaging and less babble.

How do you plan to change your own and your family’s prayer life starting today?