“7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”

The heathen also pray

I think of the 450 prophets of Baal that gathered on Mt Carmel for the showdown with Elijah in 1 Kings 18. They “called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon”, and then “they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.”

There is a warning here that, even if we have learnt of the one true God, but our response is to put on a false religiosity as a covering or a show for its public effect, then we are not praying to our Heavenly Father, we are praying instead to our own god of self-worship and pride. I think that within the Christian church that is worse than heathen worship, for it misdirects, and puts a barrier in the way of genuine seekers.

Our Heavenly Father knows our needs before we ask

Why then is prayer so important?

• It deepens our relationship with God, by leading us to be open about our needs and our overwhelming concerns;

• It places us in the right relationship with God, of dependence upon Him. When we turn to him for our needs, instead of relying upon ourselves, we are acknowledging that:

1. 1. God is all powerful and rules over this world, he is able to guide events, and is sovereign over the outcome;
   2. He is merciful and compassionate, and willing to provide all we need to do his will;

• When we come before the Lord in praise of who he is and all that his presence means for us, then we begin to see our needs as God sees them, to distinguish real needs from personal desires or trivial fads, and to see what has priority in God’s plans;

• But perhaps the most important part of prayer is not what we say to God, but what God reveals to us as we come into his presence; of how through prayer we learn to listen in the silence, and to wait upon His guidance.
  I have known Christians who said they have experienced God’s voice in spoken form, and whose changed lives were convincing evidence of that, but I have not experienced it. I have, however, come to know his presence in the stillness, and his guidance in the silence.

Prayer is a time of true contentment in his presence.