Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 6:7-8

"And in praying use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." — Matthew 6:7-8 (ASV)

St. Augustine of Hippo: Just as the hypocrites are accustomed to positioning themselves so they can be seen when they pray, whose reward is human approval, so the Gentiles are accustomed to thinking that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore, He adds, "When you pray, do not use many words."

John Cassian: We should indeed pray often, but briefly, lest if we are long in our prayers, the enemy who lies in wait for us might plant some suggestion in our thoughts.¹

St. Augustine of Hippo: Yet to continue long in prayer is not, as some think, what is meant here by "using many words." For many words are one thing, and an enduring fervor is another. It is written of the Lord Himself that He spent a whole night in prayer and prayed at great length, setting an example for us.

The brethren in Egypt are said to offer frequent prayers, but they are very short, like hasty ejaculations. This is so that the fervor of spirit, which is most beneficial for us in prayer, is not abruptly cut short by continuing too long.²

In this, they themselves show clearly that just as this fervor of spirit should not be forced if it cannot last, neither should it be abruptly cut short if it does last. Let prayer, then, be without many words, but not without much entreaty, if this fervent spirit can be sustained.

For using many words in prayer means using more words than are necessary for an essential matter. To entreat much, however, is to appeal with enduring warmth to the heart of Him to whom our plea is made. Indeed, this is often accomplished more by groans than by words, more by weeping than by speech.

St. John Chrysostom: By this, He dissuades us from empty speaking in prayer; for example, when we ask God for improper things, such as dominions, fame, the defeat of our enemies, or an abundance of wealth. He commands, then, that our prayers should not be long—long not in time, but in the number of words. For it is right that those who ask should persevere in asking, being instant in prayer, as the Apostle instructs. But this does not command us to compose a prayer of ten thousand verses and recite it all, which is what He secretly hints at when He says, "Do not use many words."

Glossa Ordinaria: What He condemns is using many words in prayer that come from a lack of faith, "as the Gentiles do." For a multitude of words was necessary for the Gentiles, since the demons could not know what they were petitioning for until instructed by them; they think they shall be heard for their much speaking.³

St. Augustine of Hippo: And truly, all this excess of words has come from the Gentiles, who labor more to practice their tongues than to cleanse their hearts, and who introduce this art of rhetoric into the very matter in which they need to persuade God.

St. Gregory the Great: True prayer consists more in the bitter groans of repentance than in the repetition of set forms of words.⁴

St. Augustine of Hippo: We use many words when we have to instruct someone who is ignorant. What need is there for them when speaking to Him who is the Creator of all things? Your heavenly Father knows what you have need of before you ask Him.

St. Jerome: From this, a heresy arises from certain philosophersⁱ who taught the mistaken doctrine that if God knows what we will pray for, and knows what we need before we ask, our prayer is made needlessly to one who has such knowledge.

To these we briefly reply that in our prayers we do not instruct, but entreat. It is one thing to inform the ignorant and another to beg from one who understands. The first would be to teach; the latter is to perform a service of duty.

St. John Chrysostom: You do not, then, pray to teach God your needs, but to move Him, so that you may become His friend by the persistence of your appeals to Him, be humbled, and be reminded of your sins.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Nor should we use words when seeking to obtain from God what we desire, but rather, we should seek with intense and fervent concentration of mind, with pure love, and a supplicant spirit.

But we ought to pray to God with words at certain times, so that by these outward signs we may remind ourselves, know what progress we have made in our desire for Him, and stir ourselves to increase this desire more actively.

This is so that after the desire has begun to grow warm, it may not be chilled and utterly frozen by various worldly cares if we do not continually take care to keep it alive.⁵

Words, therefore, are necessary for us so that we might be moved by them and understand clearly what it is we are asking—not so that we might think the Lord is instructed or persuaded by them.

Still, it may be asked, what is the use of prayer at all—whether made with words or in meditation—if God already knows what is necessary for us? The mental posture of prayer calms and purifies the soul and increases its capacity to receive the divine gifts that are poured into it.

For God does not hear us because of the compelling force of our pleas. He is always ready to give us His light, but we are not ready to receive it, as we are prone to other things.⁶

In prayer, then, there is a turning of the body to God and a cleansing of the inward eye, while those worldly things we once desired are shut out. This is so that the eye of the mind, made single, might be able to bear the single light and to abide in it with that joy by which a happy life is perfected.

1. Collat. ix. 36
2. Epist., 130, 10
3. ord.
4. Mor. xxxiii. 23
5. Epist. 130. 9
6. Serm. in Mont., ii, 3