“You are lucky to have me on your team” prayers
Approaching God on our own terms, means to present a laundry list of good deeds, worthy accomplishments and stellar performances, as the backdrop to our prayers. Such a prayer is akin to an athlete telling the press that his or her team is lucky to have such a tremendous star in their midst.
Now, most of us don’t generally think of our own prayer life as being anything like the “you are lucky to have me on your team” prayers; and neither did the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-17. This man dutifully stood by himself praying. His opening line resembles a praise psalm, “God, thank you.” But the next two verses present a very distorted prayer of praise, indeed. Praise Psalms are characterized by ascribing gratitude and praise to God, who is at the center of the praise. In the case of the Pharisee, however, he mentions the first person singular pronoun five times in two short verses. In his prayer, he is at the center of his praise. His prayer could be paraphrased as, “God, you are so lucky to have me on your team.”
What makes his prayer such a distortion? He compares himself to others rather than to God’s character. This is akin to, “as long as I can outrun you, I don’t have to outrun the bear that is chasing the two of us ready to chomp on one of our legs.” In comparing himself to those around him that don’t measure up in his estimation, he creates a false sense of achievement and security. The standard, however, is not the world, our neighbor, or even our immediate family, but God himself and scripture is very explicit that we all fall short of the glory of God.
This Pharisee falls victim to one other fallacy that is highlighted when Jesus draws upon the comparison with the prayer of the tax collector. Where the tax collector approaches God with humility, appealing to nothing but God’s character, the Pharisee approaches God in his own terms, based on his perceived achievements.
The question for each one of us this day is, do I undergird my prayers and petitions with a laundry list of perceived personal merit, or do I approach God bare, exposed and in humility, relying entirely upon his gracious character?
I would encourage each one of us to give one ear to listening to our own prayers as we spend time with God the next time. Listen attentively and see which prayer yours resembles more, the Pharisee’s or the tax collectors.
October 24, 2010, The Way Christian Fellowship, Dcn. Kirsten Gardner, Teaching Pastor