WHAT IS VAIN REPETITION?
Vain repetition -formulated prayers, mantras, incantations- are words which are useless and empty which flow from the human mind, things conceived by man, influenced by vain imaginations and worldly philosophies. In Romans 12:2, it states, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
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Jesus had this to say about vain repetition in a teaching in Matthew 6:7 (NLT), “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.”
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In Acts 19:28 (BLB), we find an example of vain repetition, “And having heard, and having become full of rage, they were crying out saying, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians,'” and in Acts 19:34 (ESV), “But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!'” For two hours, they kept crying out the same phrase over and over. Their shouts lasted only two hours and what purpose did it serve? No purpose at all. It was simply part of their rioting, senseless rioting over a false deity with all that chanting, and no results.
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The Oxford Dictionary defines mantra as:
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Originally in Hinduism and Buddhism a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation
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A Vedic hymn.
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A statement or slogan repeated frequently.
The Origin of the word itself: “Late 18th century: Sanskrit, literally ‘a thought, thought behind speech or action’, from man- ‘think’, related to mind.”
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Mantras and incantations have their origins in the Vedic Religion (India). The ancient text “The Vedas,” considered sacred, is in the Sanskrit language, written between 1500 and 1000 BCE, is filled with prayers, formulas, liturgy, and mythological accounts. Many of the languages spoken in India have descended from the Sanskrit language.
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Mantras/Incantations have been part of Christian Meditation since about the 4th Century having its origins in Eastern Religions and Eastern Philosophies (Monks/Nuns of Eastern Orthodoxy, The Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Catholicism) has flowed into Modern Christianity where even Transcendental Meditation (From the Middle Eastern Religions and Middle Eastern Philosophies as well as Asian Religions and Asian Philosophies) is readily accepted with the use of mantras and incantations.
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For instance, in a video of a Christian Meditation Instructor, she stated, “I want you to use this mantra. Repeat after me: I choose you.” She would take a deep “cleansing breath” and then repeat the mantra. She did this several times.
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Another Christian Meditation Instructor looked at a bible verse from Isaiah and proceeded to put her electronic Bible down and commenced with the meditation.
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In some of the worldly meditation videos, I saw the same thing going on as I did with the “Christian Meditation” videos. I could NOT see the difference between “Christian Meditation” versus the Secular Meditation unless I looked very closely. In other words, there was no difference with the so-called Christian Meditation versus the Worldly Meditation. Both use Bible Scripture to back up their forms of meditation. Mantras and incantations are mantras and incantations no matter how much you try to dress it up, disguise it, slice it, or dice it.
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Acceptable Prayer to the God spoken of in the bible does not involve mantras or incantations or formulated prayers. King David poured his heart out to God in the Psalms (56:8 NLT) “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” In Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV), it states, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,” and in Matthew 11:28 (NASB), Jesus says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” We are told in 1 John 5:14 (ESV), “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” And that even in prayer (Psalm 150:6 NLT), “Let everything that breathes sing praises to the LORD! Praise the LORD!” Acceptable Prayer to the God Who is The Creator is simply pouring your heart out before Him, coming into His presence with thanksgiving, and acceptable prayer is also repentance and confession before Him, seeking after Him and His righteousness.
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We, as believers, are not to adopt the ways or customs of this world (Romans 12:2), and when you are using the mantras and incantations you are you are committing the sins of divination and idolatry. When you chant mantras and incantations you are exalting and giving glory to Satan, NOT GOD, and as children of the Most High God, we are to follow the examples and teachings of Christ, NOT the ways and customs of this world. The Bible is quite clear when it states in Deuteronomy 18:9-13 (NLT), “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you. But you must be blameless before the Lord your God. ”
THIS “NEW THING” CALLED “CHRISTIAN MEDITATION”Christian Meditation is NOT a new thing and it’s not the new thing God is speaking of in Isaiah 43:18-19 which states, “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
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To use this passage to justify “Christian Meditation” is to misinterpret and to misappropriate the text because this passage is speaking about the Lord not having exhausted His power, that whatever situation one may find him/herself in, God will provide a way through the situation which is likened to a “wilderness” and that God provides relief to His child where there is none. We can see this, by the full context of Isaiah 43:18-19 by reading the previous verses which state (verses 16-17), “This is what the Lord says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick,” which means the God who parted the sea and delivered Israel from Egypt, defeated their enemies and provided a way of escape. Where they didn’t see any relief, God provided them with relief from their oppressors and gave them victory. This passage has absolutely nothing to do with this “new thing” called “Christian Meditation.”
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Nowhere in Scripture will you find the Transcendental Meditation steps such as focusing on self-discovery or enlightenment or to be aware of your environment. The Bible does NOT tell you to focus on yourself in prayer. As a matter of fact, it states, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on you because he trusts in You,” (Isaiah 26:3 NLT) and “When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into the full truth. He won’t speak on his own. He will speak what he hears and will tell you about things to come,” (John 16:13 GW). Truth is given by the God Who Created The Heavens and The Earth, and the Bible states, in Psalm 33:4 (NLT), “For the word of the LORD holds true, and we can trust everything he does,” and in John 17:17 (NLT), we can see Jesus prayed, “Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.”
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Christian Meditation, like the worldly meditations, takes your mind off Jesus Christ as told of in the Bible, and has you emptying your mind to discover your environment around you, to focus on self-discovery, and focus on gaining enlightenment. The Bible tells you what to focus such as in Galatians 6:14 (NLT), “As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died,” and 1 Corinthians 1:18 (NLT), “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God,” and in Roman 13:14 (NLT), “Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.”
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BIBLICAL MEDITATION
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Biblical Meditation never requires using eloquent words or formulas to pray to Him. He is not impressed with the power of your voice as you shout out to Him. He is not impressed with many words.
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In 1 Samuel 16:7 (GW), it states, “But the LORD told Samuel, “Don’t look at his appearance or how tall he is, because I have rejected him. God does not see as humans see. Humans look at outward appearances, but the LORD looks into the heart.” HE LOOKS TO YOUR HEART, not your outward display of showmanship before Him.
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Biblical Meditation is not influenced by culture or any kind of man-made philosophy, and it does not coddle the vain imaginations of man.
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Biblical Meditation involves you and Jesus “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus is your Mediator, sitting at the right hand of the Father, interceding for you.
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You will find nowhere in the Bible where it tells you to “Exhale the bad, Inhale the good,” or to utter any such nonsensical mantra such as “Exhale the bad, Inhale Jesus.” The Bible does not say for you to focus on the environment when meditating on God, but the Bible does say in Colossians 3:2 (ESV), “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” The Bible does not say empty your mind, but the Bible does say in Philippians 4:8 (ESV), “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” The Bible does not say to tell you to recite mantras and incantations, but the Bible does say in Matthew 6:7 (NLT), “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again,” and in John 4:24 (BSB), “God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth,” and in Psalm 150:6 (NASB), “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!”
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Meditating on God’s Word is hiding His Word in your heart, and in Psalm 119:11 (KJV), the Psalmist King David declared, “Your word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Meditating God’s Way is “Be still and know that I am God.” When you hide God’s Word in your heart, you have Scripture you can think about, ponder, consider, and something you can put into action. By hiding His Word in your heart, committing His Word to memory, you have something you can carry throughout the day with you, not just one day but every day. At various points, you can sit down and meditate on what you studied or read from the Bible, thinking about how you can apply the Word of God practically to your life.
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Acceptable Prayer and Biblical Meditation (as shown in the Scriptures) is pleasing to God while Christian Meditation and Vain Repetition are forms of divination because they involve the invoking of false deities…
(Coming Next: Divination/Witchcraft: (Part 2b) – Spellbound Captivation – YOGA)
Stained Glass Confessions 