[FamilyofGod] God Be Merciful To Me A Sinner
God Be Merciful To Me A Sinner
Prayer is a divine relationship with our Father in heaven. Bible says, "Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few." (Ecclesiastes 5:2). Does Bible say we have to do a small prayer, No, it says about the attitude of prayer and the words that proceed from our mouth in the fullness of our heart. Prayer connects us to our eternal Father, prayer strengthens us, prayer gives us the power of God, prayer lifts us above situations, prayer helps us to walk righteous before our Lord, prayer revel the plans of God for our lives, etc.
Our Lord Jesus Christ says, "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." (Matthew 6:7,8). See, our Lord commands us to pray, but not to use vain words.
Jesus Christ narrated a parable of two men praying in the temple of God. (Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 18:10-14).
Here we see the attitude of two men praying, one with pride and another with humility. Bible says, "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6) and `through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
Many times we know the "do's" in prayer, but we neglect the "don'ts" of prayer. "Don'ts" are as important as the "do's" so that our prayer is not hindered and reach heaven. From the parable we shall see some things our Lord teaches us how we should be careful in our attitude.
First the Pharisee compared himself with other men (Luke 8:11). Never compare yourself with others; you are created uniquely by God exclusively for His purpose. He knows who we are, what our thoughts are, what we are supposed to do and what we are doing. We should thank God for what we are and surrender ourselves into His mighty hands to be molded to His will.
Then the Pharisee showed his righteousness, he told he is fasting twice a week, giving tithe, not unjust, adulterer etc. The position God has given us in family, Church, work place, society is by His love and not by our righteousness. Because Jesus loves us, He gives us the gift to pray, to fast, to sing, to teach, to preach, etc. so that we will exalt His name. Our righteousness are like rags (Isaiah 64:6); and we are made righteous only by the blood of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:9). It is God who has given us gifts and talents and we have nothing to boast about it; and we are made righteous only by washing and cleansing of the blood of Jesus Christ.
The tax collector analyzing himself before God, prayed only one line, "God, be merciful to me a sinner" and our Lord says, "he went down to his house justified". When we pray, the most important thing is what our Lord says to our prayer. Here we see God giving a testimony about the tax collector. It doesn't count what all we pray, but it does counts are we praying in the will of God.
We should lead a life of humility not only while praying, but all the time. We should remember that we carry the mark of Jesus Christ who humbled Himself and came to down from His throne in heaven to earth to die for you and me on the cross. And we should also remember that we were sinners and it is only our Lord Jesus Christ who paid the price for our sins, redeemed and washed by His blood and made us righteous.
Let our hearts be filled with humility, so that we shall go to the Lord as a sinner who received His unmerited favor, pray as per His will and grow in His grace and mercy.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. (2 Corinthians 13:14)
For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. (2 Chronicles 16:9)
For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (Isaiah 57:15)
Love & Prayers,
Michael J. Knight.
http://groups.
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and I could say, "I used everything that you gave me."
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