Prayer without blemish

In the system of animal sacrifices commanded by God in the Old Testament, he stresses that the people should not take short cuts by offering "blemished" animals (Deuteronomy 17:1, KJV),

Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the Lord thy God.

Jesus, by presenting himself as the ultimate and eternal sacrifice, does away with that system of animal sacrifices. But we still offer "sacrifices" in the forms of our prayers. And to that end, the same warning applies: Our prayers should not be "blemished." That is, our prayers must not be phony, or boastful, or half-hearted.

Unfortunately, we're all guilty of occasionally offering "blemished" prayers, which speaks to our sinful natures. To avoid those blemished prayers, let us try to follow the advice in Psalm 95:6 (KJV),

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.