Answer: Absolutely NO! In fact there are passages in the Bible where we could find repetitious prayer to GOD. Like on Psalms, written some prayers and hymnal of the ancient Jewish people. Example Psalm 136, it has twenty-six lines, each one ending with the refrain: “God’s love endures forever” repeatedly.
Psalm 136:1-10
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. “His love endures forever.”
2 Give thanks to the God of gods. “His love endures forever.”
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords: “His love endures forever.”
4 to him who alone does great wonders, “His love endures forever.”
5 who by his understanding made the heavens, “His love endures forever.”
6 who spread out the earth upon the waters, “His love endures forever.”
7 who made the great lights– “His love endures forever.”
8 the sun to govern the day, “His love endures forever.”
9 the moon and stars to govern the night; “His love endures forever.”
10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt “His love endures forever.”
Notice how many times the phrase “His love endures forever.” was repeated. This and similar Psalms, which were chanted responsively are the forerunners of several popular forms of repetitive Catholic prayer.
In spite of huge biblical evidence about Repetitious Prayers, Protestants still claim that repetitious prayers are condemned by JESUS. They misinterpreted Jesus words on Matthew 6:7 about “VAIN REPETITIONS”. They claim that by praying repeatedly is babbling like the pagans and thinking that gods will hear them because many words.
Matthew 6:7 (King James Version – KJV)
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Again they failed to see huge references of Repetitious Prayers in the Bible. JESUS himself was a faithful Jew who took part in weekly Sabbath worship at the synagogue; He himself would also have prayed Psalms with Repetitious Elements.
In both Catholic and Jewish prayers, repetition simply indicates EMPHASIS and IMPORTANCE of thought. REPETITION as whole is NOT what JESUS condemned. Even Jesus prayed using the same repeated prayer, the same phrases repeated three times on Matthew 26:44.
Matthew 26:44
“So he left them and went away once more and prayed the THIRD TIME, saying the SAME THING.”
So what did JESUS really condemn regarding “VAIN Repetition”?
JESUS only condemns “EMPTY REPETITION” and not ALL forms of Repetition. Let’s go back to Matthew 6:7 and let us read it from the original GREEK translation about the real meaning of “VAIN REPETITION”. The Greek word “BATTALOGEO” means “TO REPEAT IDLY” or “MEANINGLESS MECHANICALLY repeated phrases” just like the PAGAN modes of praying.
Let us know that JESUS is more concerned with the INNER dispositions of who PRAYS not with mere outward appearance.
1 Samuel 16:7
“The LORD looks into the HEART”
Matthew 15:8-9
“7″You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 8′THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. 9′BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’”
Now how about praying the ROSARY, do we still think it is a BAD thing to do? Think again!!!Praying the rosary has been a tradition in the Church for a long time. Throughout Church history, many popes and saints have highly recommended that we pray the rosary. St. Louis de Montfort said, ‘When the Holy Rosary is said well, it gives Jesus and Mary more glory and is more meritorious than any other prayer.’
The rosary begins with the recitation of the Apostle’s Creed, an Our Father, three Hail Mary’s and a Glory Be. Then there are five decades which each begin and end with an Our Father and Glory Be, and have ten Hail Mary’s in between. When you pray the rosary, you meditate on the events in Jesus’ life. There are the joyful, luminous, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries.
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
‘Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the ROSARY. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him’ (CCC 2708).