Terri's BlogChristian perspective on today's issues.

Is there a right way or wrong way to pray?

Prayer: Is there a right way? A wrong way?   This is my subject today, but as I explained to you last week, I’m not a preacher, scholar, author, or missionary as our beloved Terri was. Nor have I had any formal training in any of those areas. That is, unless you want to agree with me that teaching junior and senior high youth for 20 years can lead to some serious bible study. (I’ll never forget the first question posed to me: Did Adam and Eve have belly buttons?) And for me writing is a whole lot harder than teaching a live class, so I pray you’ll be patient with me as I learn and share with you.  Also, I’m not going to teach you everything about everything because, well, that’s way above my pay scale. What I would like to do is INTRIGUE you to the point you would do some bible research on your own.    And as you can see I like to inject a little humor, when appropriate. I really wanted to title last weeks message as quoting God in Psalm 46:10, Hold My Beer and Watch This. But it being my first message, I didn’t think it appropriate. =).   Moving on…

Is there a right way, or wrong way, to pray?   The Bible speaks a LOT about prayer, and anytime a subject is repeated in the Bible it’s because God is telling us it’s important to our lives and to Him. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, for once He didn’t use a parable. The prayer He taught them (Matthew 6:9-13, The Lord’s Prayer) can be seen as an outline, if you will, for addressing God, making our supplications, includes an admonition of sorts for us, and has a closing that again recognizes to whom we are making our requests. We will go into this prayer in depth at another time.   When the question above was posed to me by my Sunday School class my first thought was of the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Luke 18: 10-14. I’ll pause here while you get your Bible and read this scripture.   Done? Ok, let’s continue. 😁   Now a Pharisee was of a religious sect that adhered to a very strict following of the Law as the scribes interpreted it. They had a very high opinion of themselves as you can tell by this guys prayer. Tax collectors, on the other hand, were Jews who collected the “financial contributions” required by Rome. They weren’t paid employees so they knowingly collected more than the actual amount owed, making themselves rich – and hated – in the process.   The Pharisee begins his prayer addressing (The one and only) God, just as Jesus taught his disciples in The Lord’s Prayer, right? Nothing wrong there. And he immediately thanks God. Nothing wrong there. But then his prayer goes downhill very quickly: like many of us he compares himself to others, and in the process he becomes self-righteous. Now righteousness is granted by God, not by us, so when he (we) becomes self-righteous we are putting ourselves in God’s place of judgement. Steve Brown, a radio personality, author, and sometimes pastor/speaker says “self-righteousness is one of the most addicting things in the world. You’ll find it everywhere. But the one place you should have trouble finding it is in the church, where bad people are supposed to find love.”      Instead of smugness.   The tax collector also begins by acknowledging his creator, God, and then addresses his own position – he calls himself a sinner! He beats his chest and begs for mercy!  Wow!  That’s all he says, too. He doesn’t tell God anything else, as opposed to the Pharisee. (I’ve read this passage many, many times, but in preparing this message it occurred to me that I’m not sure I’ve ever begged for mercy, nor called myself a sinner. That will change.)   Jesus completes His parable by saying that the tax collector was JUSTIFIED. The definition of justified is “the process by which sinful human beings are MADE ACCEPTABLE TO GOD”.  The emphasis is mine because I especially wanted this to stand out. Who doesn’t want to be MADE acceptable to God? According to the definition, being “made” isn’t something we do.  It is done by God.  Jesus says “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other: for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” This is reiterated in James 4:10, “Humble yourselves before God and HE will exalt you”.   After reading this scripture, what do you think? Is there a right way to pray, or a wrong way to pray? I’m not going to make a judgment call here, and maybe you shouldn’t either, just know that in this parable Jesus was teaching us to be humble. That’s a hard thing to do, especially in this world we live in. Keep it in mind when you pray.   If you do not know Jesus as your Savior, then right now, bow your head and do as the tax collector did: ask for mercy and forgiveness of your sins. God promises to forgive. Read John 3:16. Thank God for His forgiveness, know that Jesus died for you, and let Him become Lord of your life.   If you are already a believer, realize that we should ask for forgiveness every day so we can walk with a spirit of great joy, and share that joy at every opportunity. It’s what He wants us to do. And though I said earlier I have not called myself a sinner by that name, I know that every time I ask forgiveness, it’s given. Every time.   (I John 1:9)    For all of us: know that there is no sin too small, nor too big, for us to think He won’t forgive.

In His service, and yours,

Mike Jared, TCM board member