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“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do…for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8).
Apparently heathen people, who worshiped idols, used to pray, they repeated the same phrases over and over again, as if the god to whom they were praying would somehow answer their prayers more readily if they repeated themselves many times. I remember several young people in foreign countries who used to write to me, asking for things, and to make sure that I understood clearly what they wanted, they would repeat the request four or five times in the same letter. Sometimes at the end of the letter they would write several times, “Don’t forget me!”
But in our verses for today, we read that our Father already knows what we need, before we ask Him. We do not have to repeat the same request over and over again, in the same prayer. Our God knows what we need, and we can trust Him to provide for us. But notice that it says, “Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of.” It does not say, “Your Father knoweth what things ye want.” The Lord has promised to supply all our needs, not all our wants.
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