“Do not babble on like pagans”
Matthew 6:7
Cultural referenceSettledJesus
And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard. (Matthew 6:7 BSB)
* Greek: battalogeo, to stammer or babble meaninglessly.
What it sounds like today
A vague warning about long prayers.
The cultural key
Pagan prayer worked by leverage: piling up the god's names, titles, and formulas to compel a response, visible in the magical papyri and in Baal's prophets crying out from morning till noon (1 Kings 18:26). The rare Greek verb battalogeō suggests babbling, stacking syllables.
Recovered meaning
Prayer is not an incantation and God is not a machine that pays out after enough coins. Your Father knows before you ask, which is why the Lord's Prayer that follows is startlingly short.