Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

This is the story about a publican and a Pharisee. The Pharisee saw himself as someone who needed no repentance. He went up into the temple to pray. The story tells us he prayed to himself, and not to God. He claims that he was unlike other men, not an extortioner, he was not an adulterer, or even as the publican he saw praying. The story does not tell us much about the publican, other than that he recognized his need for God. The Bible tells us that Jesus recognized the publican as the one who went down to his house justified in God's sight, rather than the Pharisee who prayed to himself. We are taught here, as in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), that the penitent unrighteous is more acceptable to God than the righteous who makes no confession of their sins.

This puts us on a rather personal level with our relationship to God. In our personal prayer time with God, lifting yourself up as the Pharisee did, will bring judgment on you. Coming before God with a broken and a contrite spirit will draw you near to God. In Psalms 34:18, David is touched by God, when he says the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and save such as are of a contrite spirit. The apostle Paul was a man of prayer. In Philippians 4:6, Paul tells us, be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Paul tells us to be careful for nothing, in other words, not to be anxious for anything. We can be sure that God will receive our prayer requests and we can be sure that he will answer them according to His will.

Heavenly Father, guide us in our prayers to you. Help us to have our prayers be prayers of repentance and thanksgiving. We give praise and glory to you and we ask for forgiveness of the wrong that we do to you and others. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

If you would like to be notified when I post a new Weekly Devotional by Ken, please send your email address with the words ‘Ken's Devotional' in the subject line to

help@inspirationalbibles.com

Also, please add help@inspirationalbibles.com to your Accepted email list, as some providers will not allow our mail through without your consent. Thank you

We will NOT sell, give away, rent, or use your email for any other use except to send you reminders from Inspirational Devotionals and Prayer web site. We highly regard email as personal and private.