Short Talk on Prayer
A Short Talk on Prayer
By Jean Marie
"Our prayers must mean something to us
if they are to mean anything to God."
Maltie D. Babcock
Luke 18:9-14: Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves
that they were righteous, and despised others: "Two men went up to the
temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 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. I fast
twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' 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!' 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."
In this parable, Jesus is speaking of two
different kinds of prayer. One is the Pharisee's prayer, which is a
self-centered prayer because he is exalting himself. The other is the one the
tax collector prayed which is a God centered prayer because he is asking humbly
before God to be forgiven. Jesus shows us the need for confession of guilt, in
this parable. He also shows us that the prayer that means the most is the one
that is centered on God. As you read, the Pharisee felt he was so religiously
correct that he walked away feeling condemned. Yet the tax collector walked
away feeling justified for the forgiveness of his sin.
Jesus' main message here is that God is not
interested primarily in our good deeds, but in the willingness to let Him do
the work of grace in us. There are so many of us crippled today by our past
wrong doings, that we feel we are not good enough to come before God in prayer
or by going to church or in fellowshipping with others. The prayer that God
hears is an earnest prayer, or one that comes from our hearts. We need to
understand that we do not depend on God for his admiration of what we do, but
we depend on God for His grace to sustain us.
Psalm 6:9: The Lord has heard my supplication; The Lord will receive my
prayer.
David prayed many prayers unto God. The whole book of Psalms is a good reflection of this.
Supplication is a humble prayer, entreaty, or petition to God. Therefore, David
was going before God humbly and the Lord received his prayer. God knows us
without us having to paint him a picture.
As read in Psalm 139:1-6: O Lord,
You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but
behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before,
and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high
I cannot attain it.
Here we see that God knows our needs even
before we ask, however he does like us to come before him with prayer and
supplication to ask.
In conclusion, our prayers are to be
respectful and heart felt with much thanksgiving. There is no wrong way to
pray, if you remember this. The only wrong prayer is the self-centered prayer,
as Jesus spoke of in Luke 18.
