The Journey Podcast, Searching for Significance – coming soon! Check out Alex Presley’s interview at ronmoore.org/podcasts on September 5.

Like many of you, I have a dictionary app on my phone where I can get the “Word of the Day.” I love checking out those words and dropping them, when appropriate, into conversation. We had a guy at our church years ago who always used big words. One person told me, “I love it when he teaches. I don’t understand half of what he says, but I love it when he teaches.” A lot of words strung together with some lofty ones peppered in can certainly be impressive to some people but not so much to God.

Matthew 6:7-8
And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

In today’s passage, the Gentiles had a case of logorrhea (one of my “Words of the Day”!). It means “repetitious speech, incessant or compulsive talkativeness.” The pagans just kept babbling on, convinced their gods measured prayer by the number of words.

Jesus said we don’t pray like the Gentiles. Prayer is more than words. Our Father “knows what you need before you ask him.”  Prayer is talking to God—a personal conversation with our heavenly Father. We can communicate openly and honestly with him. Jesus reminds us to keep it simple. We can eliminate the worn-out phrases. Just tell God what’s on your heart in typical everyday language. When we tell God what’s on our hearts, we will never run out of things to say!

Father, some of us need to re-learn how to talk with you. Some of our prayer habits are hard to break. Help us to simply tell you what’s on our hearts—our dreams and disappointments, our failures and fears, our desire to disobey, and our lack of desire to spend time with you. Help us be real and honest. Meet us where we are, and then take us where you want us to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen.