When We Pray

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9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)

After the book of Luke records Jesus' teaching about persistence in prayer, it digs deeper to discuss the integrity of our prayers. This time Jesus was addressing a group of self-righteous, arrogant, individuals. He told them a story comparing the prayer of a Pharisee with that of a tax collector. Knowing that his listeners would have higher regard for the Pharisee, Jesus turned their assumptions upside down. The Pharisee spoke proudly, thanking God for all the ways he was better than others, but the tax collector only humbly begged forgiveness for his sinfulness. Jesus declared that it was the tax collector who went home justified, righteous before God.

The prayer of the Pharisee in Jesus' story is surely an exaggeration, and none of us want to think of ourselves as self-righteous or arrogant. Yet, how often do we - in prayer, conversation, and in our own thinking - seek to justify ourselves rather than acknowledge our sinfulness? This is not a call for self-deprecation, or an encouragement of low self esteem, but an instruction on honest reflection and a reminder that as soon as we exalt ourselves over another we lower ourselves in God's sight. After all, when we justify ourselves we are dismissing our need for God's grace. Any good works we do are out of gratitude for God's goodness and mercy. They can not cover our sins - only Jesus' sacrifice could do that.

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:5-8)