text: do you think that when you say "oh my god" all the time you are taking the lord's name in vain? even if every time you say it you think of god. for example if a baby falls, i might say "oh my god" almost like a prayer. is that right or am i just making an excuse for a bad habit. no. to take the lord's name in vain is when it's used to deceive someone.  hey i don't like hearing it and try to refrain from doing it but just to say "oh my god", is not what is meant.  exo 20:7  thou shalt not take the name of the lord thy god in vain; for the lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.   vain h7723 שׁו    שׁואo shâv'  shav shawv, shav from the same as h7722 in the sense of desolating; evil (as destructive), literally (ruin) or morally (especially guile); figuratively idolatry (as false, subjectively), uselessness (as deceptive, objectively; also adverbially in vain): - false (-ly), lie, lying, vain, vanity.