Sensible Prayers

Προσευχόμενοι δὲ μὴ βαττολογήσητε ὥσπερ οἱ ἐθνικοί, δοκοῦσιν γὰρ ὅτι ἐν τῇ πολυλογίᾳ αὐτῶν εἰσακουσθήσονται. Mὴ οὖν ὁμοιωθῆτε αὐτοῖς, οἶδεν γὰρ ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὧν χρείαν ἔχετε πρὸ τοῦ ὑμᾶς αἰτῆσαι αὐτόν. Διὰ τοῦτο ὁ Χριστὸς παρα κελεύεται διὰ συντόμου τὰς προσευχὰς ποιεῖσθαι, ἐπειδήπερ οἶδε τὸν νοῦν εὐπαράφορον ὄντα καὶ δι' ἐννοιῶν καὶ φροντίδων ματαιῶν ἀποπλανώμενον, μάλιστα ἐν τῷ τῆς προσευχῆς καιρῷ. Kαὶ παραγγέλλει νηφαλέως καὶ ταχέως αἰτεῖν τὸν θεὸν ἃ ζητεῖ μὴ πάντα ὅσα θέλει ἀναγγέλλοντα· τοῦτο γὰρ τῆς ἄκρας ἐστὶ φρενοβλαβείας· οἶδε γὰρ ὁ θεὸς καὶ πρὸ τοῦ ἡμᾶς αἰτῆσαι τίνων χρῄζομεν. βαττολογία δὲ λέγεται ἡ πολυλογία ἀπὸ Βάττου τινὸς Ἕλληνος μακροὺς καὶ πολυστίχους ὕμνους ποιήσαντος εἰς τὰ εἴδωλα καὶ ταυτολογίαν ἔχοντας. βαττολογία ἐστὶ τὸ ἔξω τοῦ καλοῦ. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Εὐάγγελιον Source: Migne PG 72.381c-d

When you pray, do not heap up words, like the Gentiles, for they think their many words will make them heard. Do not be like them, for your heavenly Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 1 By this Christ calls on us to keep our prayers short, since He knows that our minds are easily prone to wandering, and to veering away with different thoughts and cares, especially in the time of prayer. Therefore He commands that a man should sensibly and swiftly ask from God what he seeks, not mentioning everything that he needs, for this is the height of a crazed mind, if God knows what we need before we ask. The 'Battologia' spoken of here, which is a heaping up of words, or 'polylogia,' is derived from a certain Greek Battos who made long hymns of many verses for idols, with much repetition of words. 2 And this certainly is a defect of speech. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Fragment 1 Mt 6.7-8 2 Much more likely from Gk 'Battos' meaning stammerer, repeater of words