05 | Basics: Prayer

I want to share a story that Jesus shared as a parable to some of the religious leaders during his time. Now, a parable is a simple realistic story meant to teach a moral lesson. This was a popular method of teaching in the first century and one that Jesus used often in his own teaching.

(This story is recorded in Luke 18:9-14.)

In this particular parable, Jesus tells a story about two men who went into the temple to pray at the same time. One is a religious leader and the other is a tax collector. Tax collectors were despised during this time because of the corrupt practices that took place within the entire Roman tax system.

The religious leader enters the temple and stands there by himself to pray this prayer: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men. I am not like the extortioners, or the unjust, or the adulterers around me, or even like this tax collector over here. I fast twice a week and I give ten percent of all my income.”

But the tax collector, who was standing far away and who would not even look towards heaven, just pounds his chest and prays this prayer: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”

Jesus then says, “I tell you, this tax collector left the temple and went back to his house accepted by God, but the religious leader did not. Because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Now, I want us to take a minute and make a few observations from what we see in this story.

The religious leader was obviously a very religious man who was living a very honest and upright kind of life. He was fasting more and giving more than was required by the Old Testament set of instructions. But the problem was that he took too much pride in the kind of religious life he was living.

He walks into the temple, stands in a prominent place to pray, commends himself for all his religious work, expresses his disapproval of people who are not like him and seems to suggest that he’s got it all together and that there really isn’t anything else that he currently needs from God.

The tax collector on the other hand walks in the temple and stands far off in the corner somewhere. He doesn’t even feel like he is worthy enough to look up when he prays. He just pounds his chest a few times and confesses that he is a sinner and begs God for mercy.

And according to Jesus, we learn that God accepts the kind of prayer that we see from the tax collector but does not accept the kind of prayer that we see from the religious leader.

So what do we learn about prayer from this particular parable?

We learn that we ought to pray humbly, simply and reverently. Reverently means that we pray with a deep respect for God and with a sobering awareness of our desperate need for him.

Jesus addresses these three things about prayer in one of his most famous teachings known as the Sermon on the Mount.

Pray Humbly

Jesus begins that teaching on prayer by commanding us to pray humbly. He says:

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. (Matthew 6:5-6)

The religious leader in Jesus’ parable stood in a prominent position in the temple to pray. There is little doubt that he would have felt worthy to stand in such a position. He felt that he earned the right to stand in such a position because of his religious resume.

But Jesus commands us to not be like that guy in the story. Don’t pray to be seen or heard by others. Don’t pray in any sort of way where you are trying to exalt yourself over other people. Jesus says, “When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.”

Now, Jesus isn’t saying that we should never pray in front of other people because we see plenty of cases where him and his first followers prayed publicly. The principle that he is teaching here is that we should pray in such a way that we shut out the world in order to forget about everything else and focus solely on the fact that we are now at this very moment speaking in the presence of God. And many times, going into a room, shutting the door and praying in secret is the best way to do just that.

The tax collector in the parable did not stand in the middle of the temple but rather stood far away. He wasn’t trying to be seen by anyone; he wouldn’t even look up. This is a great example of how we ought to pray.

Jesus commands us to pray humbly. Do not pray to be seen by others or to exalt yourself in any way. Because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

Pray Simply

The second thing that Jesus addresses in his teaching is that we ought to pray simply. He ought to pray humbly, and we ought to pray simply. Jesus says:

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:7-8)

The religious leader in the parable spent his time in prayer pointing out the sins that he despised in others and the good things that he admired in himself. The gratitude that he expresses to God can really be seen as an empty phrase that was trying to cover up his real motive which was trying to prove that he was worthy of God’s favor and blessing. He used multiple descriptions of sin in others and listed his own good deeds possibly hoping that these things would keep God pleased with him.

But Jesus commands us to not be like that. Don’t use a bunch of words or elaborate phrases thinking that can help you win favor with God. Don’t say the same thing several different ways thinking that will get God’s attention. Instead, Jesus says that when you pray, be sincere and be simple. God knows what you need and what you want before you even ask him.

The tax collector in the parable could not have prayed a more simple prayer. He was sincere in his motivation and straightforward with his request. He simply prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”

He knew what he needed, and he was fully aware that God was the only one who could give it to him. He didn’t say it a bunch of different ways; he just asked God for what he needed. This is a great example of how we ought to pray.

Jesus commands us to pray simply. Do not pray to be heard but pray with the confidence that God hears and knows what you need.

And if there’s any question as to how we should do this and what this kind of prayer looks like, fortunately Jesus has taught us.

Pray Like This

We should pray humbly, we should pray simply, and as we mentioned earlier, we should pray reverently. Continuing his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us a model for how his followers ought to pray. He commands us:

“Pray then like this:

'Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’”

(Matthew 6:9-13)

Here we have what has often been referred to as the Lord’s Prayer. It is a model that Jesus has taught his followers to help us learn how to pray.

We can learn a couple basic things from the Lord’s Prayer.

First, followers of Jesus have been exalted to the privileged position of being able to address the Almighty God as “Our Father in heaven.” When we pray, we are not praying to some distant impersonal force but rather to an intimate and very personal God that desires a ‘father-to-child’ type relationship with us.

Prayer is the act of talking to God as our loving Father and enjoying that relationship.

Next, we learn that followers of Jesus ought to pray with certain priorities in order. The first half of the prayer focuses on God’s name, God’s plan and God’s desire for his people. The second half of the prayer then focuses on our needs, our forgiveness and our protection. When we pray, we don’t just take into consideration what’s important to us, but rather we learn to concern ourselves with what’s important to God.

We pray to align our hearts with God’s heart and to acknowledge our dependency on him.

And so, to sum it all up, prayer is intended to be more relational than it is religious. We don’t need elaborate words, and we should never pray to exalt ourselves. Jesus has commanded his followers to pray humbly, to pray simply and to pray reverently. And he has provided the model we need to pray rightly.