As I have said before, repeated prayers are fine

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You know, I'm not against spontaneous prayer, but I'm also not against repeated prayer. I'm sure I've written about the “Our Father” before (indeed, I've written about repeated prayers, before, The Our Father and repeated prayers/), but, besides using a different version of the Bible, I feel like I need to address this. Sometimes, I see people who criticize repeated prayers, by quoting Matthew 6:5
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward.” and Matthew 6:7,
“And in praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words”.
Well, the problem with that is that Jesus tells us how to pray, presumably a prayer that should be repeated.
“Pray then like this:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver use from evil”. (Matthew 6:9-13).
And there IS Old Testament precedent for this.
“Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes”. (Psalm 119:12)
“When I told of my old ways, you answered me; teach me your statutes”. (Psalm 119:26)
“The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love;
teach me your statutes”! (Psalm 119:64)
“Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, and teach me your statutes”. (Psalm 119:124)
“Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes”. (Psalm 119:135)
“With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD! I will keep your statutes”. (Psalm 119:45)
I agree that just senselessly repeating prayers is wrong, but who says that repeated prayers are senseless?
Yes, some people run the risk of treating prayer like a magical incantation, but, it's not why I pray, and it shouldn't be why you do, either.
And besides, Jesus not only tells us what to pray, he tells us how to pray. I intentionally left out Matthew 6:8, but, go ahead and insert it back in the text,
“Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him”.
If we followed the logic of the people who say not to repeat prayers, we wouldn't have to pray at all. This is why I warn people about using verses out of context.

Adam Charles Hovey is the author of "Elisabeth and the other man", a nonfiction book about being an unknowing third party in a case of emotional infidelity. You can get it here, Elisabeth and the other man (Paperback), and here; Elisabeth and the other man (ebook)