<p>6:7&nbsp;<em>And in praying do not use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking-&nbsp;</em>We will not use &quot;vain repetitions&quot; (Mt. 6:7); the Greek means literally 'to stutter / stammer with the&nbsp;<em>logos</em>'. We know what the man with a chronic stammer is trying to say before he actually finishes saying it. To hear him saying the same syllables again and again is a frustration for us. It's a telling way of putting it. God knows our need before we ask (Mt. 6:8). Say it, if we have to be explicit, and mean what we ask. And leave it there. 'Don't keep stammering on in your prayers' is to be connected with what comes a bit later: &quot;Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek)... but seek (i.e. pray for, Is. 55:16) the Kingdom of God, and His (imputed) righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you&quot; (Mt. 6:31-33). We are not merely to believe that what we ask for we will receive. Note how again the word&nbsp;<em>logos</em>&nbsp;occurs; we commented several times in chapter 5 that this is a core idea in the Sermon. Our innermost thought and intention is of the essence.</p>