Today’s Reading: Luke 18:15-26 and 11:11-13; Mark 10:13-31
Pray to God humbly without self-righteousness…
“Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week and I give you a tenth of my income.’” — Luke 18:10-12
Pray to God without the attitude that God owes you…
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful on me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” – Luke 18:13-14
Pray to God with childlike faith…
“Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” – Luke 18:16-17
Pray to God with empty hands…
Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.’”
The man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”
When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich.
When Jesus saw this, he said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
Those who heard this said, “Then who in the world can be saved?” – Luke 18:18-26
Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?” – Matthew 19:26-27
Pray to God knowing He is generous…
Jesus went on to describe the heart of God to his disciples. God recognizes those who sacrifice earthly pleasure to pursue the will of God, and He has eternal blessings in store for each of them. He loves to give good gifts to His children!
“You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” – Luke 11:11-13
And what better gift for us to receive than the Holy Spirit. It is in moments of weakness and discouragement when we struggle to even know how to pray. God, knowing exactly what we need, gives His Spirit to intercede for us and to give us peace when we need to trust that God is working everything out according to His purpose.
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. – Romans 8:26-28
I encourage you to put everything away and simply spend some time praying this morning. Pray with shameless persistence as you bring your needs to the Lord and with the humble expectation that you will be heard by your Heavenly Father. Know that God loves you and ask Him to give you a fresh infilling of His Spirit today.