Playing or Praying to God?

Luke 18:9-14

9 Jesus also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves and were confident that they were righteous [that they were upright and in right standing with God] and scorned and made nothing of all the rest of men:

10 Two men went up into the temple [enclosure] to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee took his stand ostentatiously and began to pray thus before and with himself: God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men—extortioners (robbers), swindlers [unrighteous in heart and life], adulterers—or even like this tax collector here. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I gain. 13 But the tax collector, [merely] standing at a distance, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but kept striking his breast, saying, O God, be favorable (be gracious, be merciful) to me, the especially wicked sinner that I am!

14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified (forgiven and made upright and in right standing with God), rather than the other man; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Food for thought!

In the passage before us today, the Lord Jesus allows us a glimpse into the Temple, into what happens in our churches, into what happens in our hearts as we pray. In this parable, we see that one man came to church that day to worship himself. The other came the same day to worship the Lord. The first man did not really go to pray to God. He prayed with himself. True prayer is always offered to God and to God alone. He feels like he is talking to the Lord, in truth, he is only talking to himself. He said: "I thank You that I am not like the rest of men—extortioners (robbers), swindlers [unrighteous in heart and life], adulterers—or even like this tax collector here." As you can see, this prayer got no higher than the roof of his mouth.

This man was really giving himself a testimonial before God; he did not really go to pray; he went to inform God how good he was. This man is a picture of many of us in the church. Everyone who sees us thinks we are pure, holy and righteous. We have convinced everyone that we are the epitome of righteousness, holiness and virtue. We have even convinced ourselves that we are right and everyone around us who is not exactly like us is wrong.

The second man, a tax-collector, stood afar off, and would not even lift his eyes to God. In his praying, he referred to himself not just as any sinner, as THE SINNER par excellence. "And," said Jesus, "it was that heart-broken, self-despising prayer which won him acceptance before God." This man is a picture of another kind of people in our churches. These are the people who do not act like we think they should. They might not dress like we think they should. They might not do things and say things just like we think they should; these people are often looked down on by the other people who think they are more spiritual.

We could learn a lot from this man and his style of prayer! He knows that he has nothing at all to offer the Lord. He knows He is a wicked sinner. When he prays, there is no pride, no pretence, no hint of self-righteousness and there are no attempts to justify himself or his lifestyle in the eyes of the Lord. He just tells the truth, humbles himself before God, and asks for mercy. He won’t even lift his eyes toward heaven. He beats himself on the breast, knowing that his real problems are problems of the heart; his heart is the seat of all his problems. His prayer is short, simple and to the point.

This parable unmistakably tells us certain things about prayer.

(i) No man who is proud can pray. The gate of heaven is so low that none can enter it save upon his knees. 

(ii) No man who despises his fellow-men can pray. In prayer we do not lift ourselves above our fellow-men. We remember that we are one of a great army of sinning, suffering, sorrowing humanity, all kneeling before the throne of God's mercy.

(iii) True prayer comes from setting our lives beside the life of God; not comparing ourselves with other people. No doubt all that the Pharisee said was true. He did fast; he did meticulously give tithes; he was not as other men are; still less was he like that tax-collector. But the question is not, "Am I as good as my fellow-men?" The question is, "Am I as good as the heavenly Father?" As Jesus reminded us last week, our role model is not man, it is God. It all depends on what we compare ourselves with. And when we set our lives beside the life of Jesus and beside the holiness of God, all that is left to say is, "God be merciful to me--the sinner."