What does it mean to use vain repetitions in prayer?

Jesus said in the sermon on the Mount,

[Matthew 6:7]

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the hypocrites do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

If we look at the dictionary definition of Vain we see the following..

The word vain means “empty” or “useless”;

so Jesus is warning us that repeating worthless phrases in our prayers will not help them be heard by God. Our Heavenly Father is not concerned with word count, flowery expressions, or mantras; He desires “truth in the inward being”

[Psalm 51:6]

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom

As Jesus points out, the use of repetitious words or formulaic phrases is a “heathen” or “pagan” practice and should not be part of Christian prayer.

Our prayers should be more like the short, simple prayer of Elijah on Mt. Carmel  and less like the prolonged, repetitious prayers of the prophets of Baal. If you’re not familiar with this text it can be read in 1 Kings 18.  The outline of the account is that the Priests of Baal spent all morning praying and dancing to try to obtain Gods favour and Elijah used a single well-formed prayer.  

When we are Praying we are talking with God and worshipping Him. It is like a conversation, from the heart.

Many religions—including some branches of Christianity—have mechanical  prayers that they advise repeating over and over again. Some churches even go so far as to require their members to recite a certain prayer a specific number of times in order to be absolved of sin. This is a throwback to paganism and superstition; such formulaic prayers are “vain repetitions” that have no place in the church.

It’s easy to be caught up in vain repetitions, repeating the same words in our prayers instead of thinking about our words or letting them come from the heart. We should be focused on God in prayer and honor Him in our hearts.

Repeating things fills up time, but it does not prove our devotion or better our chances of God’s hearing us.

Being persistent in prayer is not the same as using vain repetitions. There is nothing wrong with praying for the same thing more than once, But  our prayers are from the heart, spontaneous, and honoring to God, not the repeating of words written by someone else.

The Bible teaches us to pray in faith  in direct address to God  and in Jesus’ name  We should offer our prayers with reverence and humility  with perseverance  and in submission to God’s will . The Bible teaches us to avoid prayers that are hypocritical, designed to be heard only by men , or rely on vain repetitions .