May 12 2025

Monday May12

Luke 18:9-14 – The Wrong Way to Pray

9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Jesus began this chapter (vv. 1-8), by telling a parable about prayer, speaking about the necessity of prayer, that we ought always to pray and not to faint, and the frequency of prayer, that we are to pray without ceasing, continuously, believing that the presence of the Lord is in our lives, knowing that He's there, and we have open communication with Him through Jesus Christ. Oh, how wonderful that is.

Then in verses 9-14, Jesus is talking about the failure of prayer as He tells another parable. Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Now, how should we pray, and what should our attitude be when we come to pray? First, we see this Pharisee who was deceived. He was deceived about himself; he trusted in himself and prayed thus with himself because he wasn't praying to God, and God wasn't listening to this kind of prayer from a proud heart. He was deceived about his pride; he thought he was better than others. He despised the sinners around him instead of loving and caring for them.

He thought that he could please God by his works. He fasted twice a week. Jewish law required fasting maybe once a year, but this man fasted twice a week. He gave tithes down to the smallest detail of whatever he might have brought in, even from the field. Oh, he thought he was so good.

That's just like so many of us who think we can please God and can gain His favor by our service, when God just wants a humble heart coming to Him, totally dependent upon Him for our salvation and everything in our lives, acknowledging that we are sinners and deserve nothing. That's why the Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of your works, lest any man should boast." This Pharisee was boasting.

Throughout His public ministry, Jesus exposed the self-righteousness and unbelief of the Pharisees (see Luke 11:39-54). He pictured them as debtors too bankrupt to pay what they owed God (Luke 7:40-50), guests fighting for the best seats (Luke 14:7-14), and sons proud of their obedience but unconcerned about the needs of others (Luke 15:25-32). The sad thing is that the Pharisees were completely deceived and thought they were right, and Jesus was wrong. This is illustrated in this parable. That’s what Jesus is doing here, exposing the hypocrisy of a man who thinks he's religious enough to merit favor with God rather than humbling himself and coming like a sinner.

That's why Jesus said this publican, this tax collector, went home justified. To be justified means to have a right standing with God, to stand righteous before Him without sin, without any guilt. Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”.  We are justified by faith not by our works. Only the blood of Jesus can wash away our sins. This publican came with a humble heart; the Pharisee came with a proud heart. God wants us to come humbly before Him in prayer and not “pray with ourselves” to be seen publicly, like Matthew 6:5 says about the hypocrite, so others will see him.

I'm afraid many prayers, even in our churches today, by good, well-meaning people, are just flowery words that mean nothing to God because the person is praying out of a motive to make sure everybody knows how religious, how special, how good he is by all his deeds and works of service. God, help us, forgive us, cleanse us from that kind of attitude. May we come before Him with a humble heart, trusting in the Lord for His grace and mercy today. We need to come like this publican. He smote his breast; he knew his heart was dirty, not clean, and only God could clean it. "Be merciful to me, a sinner"! What a great prayer.

I trust we will learn how to pray with frequency, with necessity, and with a humble heart.

God bless!