SCRIPTURE: The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:11-14 NIV
THOUGHT: Some more thoughts on prayer…from the mouth of Jesus. I mentioned “God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” yesterday, but today you get the whole enchilada. And it’s spicy.
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It’s a story he told, as he often did, to drive his point home. Luke preempts it by offering this explanation: “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt (v. 9).”
The parable ministers to me because I struggle with taking care of my body, and I struggle with fear. Maybe you have a different struggle that you face daily. Anger. Fear. Pride. Contempt. Depression. Some failure of the will. Some action, or lack of action, that haunts you. The kind you start out everyday knowing you’ll do better at, only to fall in bed at night, aware that you missed the mark…again. You hardly can drag yourself to the throne room yet again to say “I’m sorry,” wondering when the grace will finally stop and there will be no more for you.
But Jesus said the one who shows up in the throne room like that is the one who goes home (or to sleep) justified, not the one whose prayers are really not to God at all, but more for the sake of others who might hear. So, I’m calling ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner,’ a Gospel Prayer. A good news prayer. Because the good news doesn’t rely on us, it relies on a triune God who is for us. Merciful, advocating, helping us in our weaknesses. What could be better news as we wrestle, struggle, climb, or fail again?
PRAYER: Oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And in your great mercy, help me grow in these areas that I struggle with.
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Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
Check out Walking When You’d Rather Fly, and learn more about the book and Amy’s other ministries. You will also find her devotional work at Words of Hope.
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