Pharisee Or Publican?
How is your prayer life? How do you pray? Is your heart invested in prayer? Do you mean what you speak in God's presence?
What can we learn from the prayer of the Pharisees and the Publican?
Both went to the temple to pray.
What can we glean from the verses in Luke 18:10-13
About the Pharisee, we can see;
Pride: The Pharisees love the best seating areas (Matthew 23:6). Unlike the Publican who stood afar off, he would have proudly gone upfront and prayed.
Spirit of Comparison: His prayer was sinful because he compared himself with others.
False Thanks: His thanks were merely lip service. He had no humility or gratitude for God.
Accusatory: His prayer condemned others and exalted himself.
Spiritual Pride: He believed he was very spiritual because of his outward practices.
On the other hand, the Publican displayed a completely different attitude that pleased Jesus.
Humility: He stood afar acknowledging his unworthiness.
Fear and trembling: He did not even look up, acknowledging the holiness of God.
Repentant: He asked for mercy and forgiveness from God.
Fervent prayer: He smote his breast, revealing a striving in prayer.
Awareness of his spiritual state: He called himself a sinner, acknowledging his wretchedness before God's awesome presence.
Both went to the temple to pray, but their prayers revealed that the Pharisee was a hypocrite while the Publican had genuine sorrow about his state.
We also see in scripture that the publicans desired to know Jesus and honoured His presence around Him. Zaccheus was a publican who deeply desired to see Jesus.
The Pharisees would only hate Jesus. Mocking, falsely accusing, arguing, provoking, etc., at Jesus whenever they thought they had a chance.
Let's examine our hearts and pray sincerely every time we enter His presence. Enter with thanksgiving and praise. God will be pleased and prepare us for His kingdom so we can remain in His love forever.
Maranatha, Praise God, and Amen.
