wouldn’t even look up to heaven

Where’s your focus when you pray? Yourself and your needs? The people around you and the things God needs to fix there?

Jesus told a story of two prayers: one of a Pharisee and one of a tax collector. The Pharisee was a religious leader and pillar of society—and he was proud of it! He looked at himself, then looked around him and thanked God he wasn’t a sinner like the greedy, dishonest tax collector.

But that wasn’t the prayer Jesus wanted His listeners to notice. The praying tax collector wasn’t looking around. He couldn’t even bring himself to look up. He was a sinful man and he knew it. All he could do was plead with God to be merciful to him, even though he didn’t deserve it.

Humble, honest, self-aware and seeking mercy without anything to offer in return—the tax collector’s prayer gives hope to all of us. For Jesus explains, “This man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.”

Moral goodness and religious devotion make for a wonderful life and community; but they don’t earn us any favour with God. God wants us to recognise that every good thing we have comes from Him. He doesn’t want us to keep our eyes on ourselves or on others when we pray, but always on Him; the source of all goodness and mercy.

PRAYER: Luke 22:39-44

ANSWER: Luke 22:47-54