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NASB | Matthew 6:7 ¶ "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 6:7 ¶ "And when you pray, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. [1 Kin 18:25-29] |
Bible Question:
This is an issue regarding prayer, and in particular the way to address God in this vital exercise. As someone brought up using mainly the KJV / AV, I have been accustomed to addressing God using THEE / THOU as opposed to YOU / YOUR. In my prayer life I seek to call upon God in an acceptable, reverent manner. However, as the common useage appears to be towards the more contemporary forms of address I am finding this to be an issue within my own prayer life. I know this may be a secondary issue, but I would appreciate some clarity on this issue. Thanks. |
Bible Answer: Hello, Dave :: Praying in the "King's English" -- that is, the Jacobean English in which the King James Bible is written -- may sound "reverential" to some Christians, quaint to others, and downright incomprehensible to a horde of other regenerate believers whose native tongue may be Spanish or German, Portugese or Chinese, or scores of other tongues. ..... The language of the New Testament autographs was Greek, but not the Attic Greek, the prestige dialect of the elite: the scholar, the statesman, the landed gentry. It was in Koine Greek, the everyday language of the common people: the artisan, the soldier, the fisherman, the herdsman. ...... It is worthy of note that in Mark 14:36 Jesus the Son addressed God the Father as "Abba" an Aramaic household term for Father. It is not unlike an English-speaking child addressing his earthly father by the intimate term of daddy or papa. The apostle Paul uses the same word, Abba, in Romans 8:15 when writing to the Roman Christians about the Spirit of adoption, whereby the Holy Spirit places the believer as a son in God's family. Here again the intimate relationship between the believer and the Father is made very clear. ...... And yet another time in Ephesians 4:6,7 Paul writes about the relationship of the redeemed to the heavenly Father, calling them His sons -- sons, no longer slaves; and as sons, heirs of God through Christ Jesus. And what a joy it is to be able to call God our Father, and even to call Him "Abba," which is laden with the meaning of affectionate intimacy. ..... Dave, as one who is saved by the grace of God through faith in His precious Son, my joy overflows to know that He is my Father in heaven, my "Abba" who recognizes me as a son, made possible by the finished work of His Son on the cross. I do not for a moment think that it matters at all whether I use contemporary English or Jacobean English pronouns in addressing my Father in prayer; or even, for that matter, whether I pray in English or French or German or any other of dozens of languages. What is important, I surely do believe, is the content of my prayers: their honesty, their earnestness, their fervor, their genuine humility, their thanksgiving, their praise of the mighty God, and their frequency. ...... Oh, but I didn't mean to ramble on so long! But I do pray that this little disjointed dissertation will be of some benefit to you. Welcome! It's nice to have you on Study Bible Forum. --Hank |