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Years ago we were holding a crusade and I forgot my Bible. What good is a preacher without a Bible? So I asked my son Christopher to go to the hotel room and get it, which he did.
He returned quickly, but at the security checkpoint the usher didn't recognize him. "Sorry, you can't go back there." Christopher said, "No, I'm Christopher Laurie, and Greg is my dad. He's asked me to get his Bible." The usher said, "I'm sorry, you don't have the right badge." Christopher pulled out the Bible — "Look, it says Greg Laurie on it." Then he pulled out his driver's license — "Look, it says my name, Christopher Laurie." Finally someone recognized him: "Of course, let him in. It's his son."
Now the usher was just doing his job. But that's a beautiful picture of us approaching God. You don't need a badge — you have relationship. Christopher could approach me because he's my son. We can approach God because we're His sons and daughters, and that's all we need to have open access into His presence 24/7.
That access is not based on anything I have done. It is solely based on what He has done. As Hebrews reminds us:
Brothers and sisters, you can boldly enter heaven's most holy place because of the blood of Jesus.
And if there's one thing the devil does not want you to do, it is pray. Prayer is the Christian's secret weapon, and the devil will do everything he can to keep you from praying.
As believers, our problems don't end, but we have a powerful asset in dealing with them — and that asset is prayer. But as we'll see from our text, there's a right way and a wrong way to pray. A lot of us are carrying burdens God never intended for us to carry. We carry worry, fear, anxiety, and guilt. Prayer is God's invitation to transfer those burdens from our shoulders to His.
How many of you have problems right now? And how many don't have a care in the world? Maybe you're deluded — or maybe you're doing something the rest of us need to be doing more of.
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is Jehoshaphat. He was king of Israel, facing insurmountable odds, attacked by both the Moabites and the Amorites. Militarily, he had no way to equal their force on the battlefield. But he used the one secret weapon we all have — prayer. And he knew God cared about his problem.
Casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
That word casting means to throw something with force — not gently placing it, but taking that burden like a pile of smelly trash and throwing it into the trash truck: "Good riddance, take it away." When the Bible says cast your cares, it means intentionally put them on the Lord. Stop worrying about whatever you're facing, and let God assume that weight.
Max Lucado said it well:
God is not a harried supervisor who gives you 30 seconds of his attention and then moves on. You are the only person in the universe he's thinking about right now.
When you pray, you're not interrupting God. You're not getting in some cosmic line of billions of people, waiting your turn. Much as a child calls out to their father, when you say, "Lord, help me," He hears. He's interested. He cares about what you're facing.
So Jehoshaphat called the people together for prayer:
Lord, we're powerless against this mighty army that's about to attack us, and we don't know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. (2 Chronicles 20:12)
He acknowledges the problem. We don't know what to do, but we know who to turn to.
The king reminds himself and the people of the greatness of God:
God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler over all the kingdoms of the earth. You're powerful and mighty. No one can stand against you. (2 Chronicles 20:6)
I love to quote Scripture when I pray. Why? Not to remind God of something He doesn't know, but to remind me of something I may have forgotten. As I acknowledge the greatness, majesty, and power of God, I begin to see my problem in its proper perspective.
That's how Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord's Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
It starts by contemplating the awesomeness, greatness, and power of God, and reminding yourself that He is bigger than your problem.
Prayer is not informing God of something He doesn't know. Prayer is inviting God into something we can't handle. Let me say that again: Prayer is not informing God of something He doesn't know. Prayer is inviting God into something we can't handle.
And God answered Jehoshaphat's prayer — with the weirdest battle strategy of all time. The Lord said, "Put the worship band ahead of your armies and have them play their instruments and sing songs of praise to God." As they honored and glorified God, the enemy became confused, turned on each other, and defeated themselves.
Often the Lord doesn't work as quickly as we'd like. But the Bible says God makes everything beautiful in His time. Just as important as the will of God is the timing of God.
Now let's look at a story Jesus told about a woman who wouldn't take no for an answer — a model for praying persistently. Luke 18:1–8:
One day, Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up... "There was a judge in a certain city who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, 'Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.' The judge ignored her for a while, and finally he said to himself, 'I don't fear God and I don't care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she's wearing me out.'"
...Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don't you think that God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly.
The main point Jesus makes is that we should always pray and never give up — or as the King James puts it, not lose heart.
We have a choice when crisis comes:
First, we should pray because Jesus told us to. And did He not model this for us? How many times do we read of Christ spending the evening in prayer, talking to His Father? If Jesus, the very Son of God, felt the need to spend time in prayer, how much more do we as mortal human beings need to pray?
Second, prayer is God's appointed way for obtaining things. That can sound selfish, but the fact is God has promised to provide for us. In the Lord's Prayer, right after teaching us to worship, He teaches us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread."
Here's a very important verse:
You have not because you ask not. (James 4:2)
I wonder how many things are not happening in our lives that could be happening simply because we've failed to pray. You say, "I never get the opportunity to lead people to Christ." Have you prayed about it? "I never know the will of God for my life." Have you asked? Scripture says, "If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who will give generously." "Why am I always strapped financially?" Have you asked the Lord to provide? You have not because you ask not.
"Why am I sick? Why has God not healed me?" Have you prayed about it? God does heal. God wants to heal. He doesn't always heal everyone, but He heals many. Maybe someone right now, instead of immediately calling the doctor, needs to first call on the Lord. (I'm all for doctors — but pray too.)
I heard about a man who called the doctor: "Doc, I'm a terrible worrier. I worry about my health, my finances, my job. What can I do?" The doctor said, "Have you tried prayer?" The man said, "I tried that, but I worry that I'm not doing it right." That's the problem — you worry about everything.
Prayer is the way God helps us overcome our anxiety and worry. I have put this to the test time and time again, and it works.
Don't worry about anything. Pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7)
Sometimes we treat worry as a virtue — "Oh, I worry about my children, I worry about this and that." Stop it. Worry is a lack of trust in God. In fact, the word worry comes from a root meaning to strangle or choke — and that's exactly what it does. Martin Lloyd-Jones said:
The result of worrying about the future is you yourself in the present.
When we did our crusade in Australia, they have an expression: "No worries, mate." That's actually theologically sound.
At first blush the story shows two people: the powerful judge and the weaker widow. In that culture a widow was at a distinct disadvantage — normally the husband would represent the family in court, but she had no husband. And she was dealing with a corrupt judge.
But things are not always as they appear. Because she employed the secret weapon of prayer, the woman was actually the stronger one, because God was going to intervene for her. She would not let the judge ignore her. She plagued him until he said, "I can't take it anymore — this woman is driving me crazy."
So what's the point? That God is like a corrupt judge and we have to wear Him out? No — it's the very opposite. Jesus is using contrast. Our loving heavenly Father is the opposite of this judge.
Don't you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? (Luke 18:7)
You have a loving Father who cares about you, who is bigger than your problems, and who wants to answer your prayers. You just need to keep showing up. As Jesus said, "Fear not, little flock. It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." God loves to bless you. You don't have to wear Him out.
Why do some prayers seem unanswered? Actually, every prayer is answered — we just may not like the answer. God answers in three ways:
Now we shift to another story contrasting two people. This one shows how important our attitude is when we pray. Luke 18:9–14:
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else... "Two men went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, the other a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: 'God, I thank you that I'm not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers—and certainly not like that tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give you a tenth of my income.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, 'God, be merciful to 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."
God sees things differently than we do. We judge by outward appearance — this is a good person, this is a bad person.
Let's understand the Pharisee. We think of "Pharisee" as negative, but it wasn't originally. A Pharisee committed to the study and memorization of Scripture and lived by the commandments. There were good Pharisees, like Nicodemus, and bad Pharisees who plotted Jesus' death.
This Pharisee fasted twice a week — commendable. He gave tithes of all he possessed — also commendable. Every Christian should tithe.
People say, "Tithing isn't in the New Testament." In the Old Testament, a tithe meant a tenth — you take a tenth of your income and give it to the Lord to invest in His kingdom. I've done this my entire life, and God has always been faithful to provide for all my needs. He promises a blessing on those who bring the tithes into His storehouse.
In the New Testament the principle is usually expanded. Jesus said, "You've heard it said, 'You shall not murder,' but I say if you have hatred in your heart, it's the same thing." So in the New Testament we do more, not less. A tenth is entry-level giving — training wheels. You bring tithes and offerings, and God will never be your debtor.
So there's nothing wrong with the fact that this man tithed. The problem was he was trusting in his own righteousness. People think, "I've been baptized, I received communion, I read the Bible — therefore I'm right with God." Do those things, but don't trust in those things.
I heard about a multimillionaire revealing the secret of his success: "When I was young and poor, I took my last dime and bought an apple. I polished it and sold it for fifty cents. Then I bought five more, polished them, sold them for $2.50, and kept going until I made a hundred dollars." His listeners said, "So that's how you became a millionaire?" He said, "Oh no. My wife's father died and left us ten million dollars."
That's us. "Oh, I did all these things." No — it's the grace of God. Everything you have has been given to you by the grace of God. It's a gift.
Picture it this way: a minister and a drug dealer go into a church to pray. Mother Teresa and Howard Stern. Billy Graham and Marilyn Manson. We'd say, "That one's good, that one's bad." But it's all about the heart. The Pharisee's heart was in the wrong place; the tax collector's was in the right place.
If you ever find yourself praying, "I thank God I'm not like other people," just stop. But the tax collector wouldn't even lift his face and simply prayed, "God, be merciful to me, the sinner."
People say there's no sinner's prayer in the Bible. Well, here is the sinner's prayer: "God, be merciful to me, the sinner." There's no magic in the words I might lead someone in — it's built on scriptural principles of what a person must do: repent of sin, understand that Christ died and rose again, and receive Him. "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."
So the takeaway: you must admit you're a sinner and come in humility before God, not arrogance. Attitude is everything in prayer.
When you ask God for something and you don't get it, it's because your motive is wrong. You only pray for those things that will give you pleasure. (James 4)
The wrong attitude can cancel out our prayer. People do weird things and call it prayer. Sometimes prayer becomes a chance to brag: "God, I thank you for the time I spent sharing the gospel with 20 people, and as I read the Scriptures at 3 a.m...." That's not a prayer — that's a performance. Or people use prayer to gossip: "Lord, you know that Jim has been unfaithful to his wife, and even his wife sitting here hasn't heard this yet..." That's not a prayer — that's an announcement.
Here's what we've learned so far about how to approach God: with persistence, like the widow; with humility, like the tax collector; and ultimately, like a little child. Luke 18:15–17:
One day, some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. And when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him. Then Jesus called for the children and said, "Let the little children come to me, and don't stop them. For the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these little children. And I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it."
In that culture, the tradition was for a father to lay his hand on the child and pronounce a blessing. So they brought their children to Jesus for exactly that. In Mark's Gospel we read that Jesus took them into His arms and began to fervently bless them. I love that — He welcomed the opportunity.
What a contrast children must have been from all the adversarial, argumentative adults He dealt with daily, with their traps and challenges. Along come these children — laughing, happy, smiling — and He takes them into His arms and enjoys their company. His disciples think it's a horrible thing and shoo them away. Jesus is indignant: "Let those children come to me and stop hindering them."
Like those persistent moms, we need to bring our children to Jesus. Have you done that? You need to pray for your children — not just dedicate them when they're little, but keep praying, especially when they become teenagers.
How do you do that? You model what it means to be a Christian:
As Moses said, teach these things to your children when you get up in the morning, when you lie down at night, and everywhere you go — always weaving your faith into their lives.
How do you receive the kingdom like a child? You become childlike — not childish. There's a difference.
Children come in complete honesty. If they're happy, they laugh; if they're sad, they cry. You know where you stand with a child. And when they're small, they're completely dependent on the parent. When you cradle a newborn, you support their head and neck and treat them with the utmost care — that child depends on you for everything.
In the same way, if we're honest, we are dependent on God for everything, and we need to let Him hold us in His everlasting arms.
Children also know how to receive a gift. Give a gift to a child and they open it immediately. Adults set it aside — "I'll get to it eventually." No — open the gift now! That's what I love about kids: you know where you stand with them, and they come in complete dependence.
I wonder if I'm talking to someone right now who is carrying a burden you were never meant to carry. Worry is strangling you. Guilt is crushing you. Fear won't let you sleep at night.
Jesus says, "Come to me, you who are burdened with life. Come with your burdens." Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
You say, "But I'm not worthy." I hate to break it to you — you were never worthy. On your best day, you weren't even close. But here's the good news: it's not about your worthiness. It's about His love for you. He purchased for you, as Hebrews says, a new and living way into His presence. You've got the proper ID, because you're His child, and He will always hear your prayers.
Sometimes people say we're all children of God. Not really. We're all created by God and loved by God, but we're not all children of God. You become a child of God by being adopted into His family — or as Jesus said, you must be born again. That's what He said to Nicodemus, the religious man, the Pharisee: "You must be born again."
For as many as received him, to them he gave the power to become sons and daughters of God.
You have to receive Christ into your life. Then you have access into God's presence — on your best days, and even on your worst days. When you've messed up, when you've crossed a line, you think, "I can't approach God now, I'm not worthy." You never were. Get rid of the whole "worthy" mentality. You can approach Him through the blood of Jesus Christ.
The devil doesn't want you to know that. Remember the believers in Revelation who overcame Satan, the accuser of the brethren? They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. Because of the blood of Jesus shed on the cross, they could come into God's presence — and so can we.
Prayer — what a privilege. You've been walking around with all those burdens, and here is your Father in heaven, ready to lift them off your shoulders and forgive you of all your sin.
Maybe you don't have the assurance that you're a child of God. You've never prayed that sinner's prayer. You can do it here, now. Christ can come into your life, forgive all your sin, give you the fresh start you've been wanting, and let you know with certainty that when you die you will go to heaven.
Let's pray.
Father, thank you for your love in sending Jesus, your only begotten Son, to die on the cross for our sin and rise again from the dead. Lord Jesus, thank you for your promise of forgiveness to those who believe in you.
If you want Christ to come into your life, if you want Him to forgive your sin, would you lift your hand right now, wherever you're sitting — saying, "I need Jesus today. Pray for me. I want my sin forgiven. I want to know that when I die, I will go to heaven."
Now let me lead you in a prayer. Pray these words out loud:
Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now. I repent of it, and I receive you into my life as my Savior and Lord. Thank you that I am now a child of God and I have this new relationship with you. I pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.
God bless each one of you who prayed that prayer.
Years ago we were holding a crusade and I forgot my Bible. What good is a preacher without a Bible? So I asked my son Christopher to go to the hotel room and get it, which he did.
He returned quickly, but at the security checkpoint the usher didn't recognize him. "Sorry, you can't go back there." Christopher said, "No, I'm Christopher Laurie, and Greg is my dad. He's asked me to get his Bible." The usher said, "I'm sorry, you don't have the right badge." Christopher pulled out the Bible — "Look, it says Greg Laurie on it." Then he pulled out his driver's license — "Look, it says my name, Christopher Laurie." Finally someone recognized him: "Of course, let him in. It's his son."
Now the usher was just doing his job. But that's a beautiful picture of us approaching God. You don't need a badge — you have relationship. Christopher could approach me because he's my son. We can approach God because we're His sons and daughters, and that's all we need to have open access into His presence 24/7.
That access is not based on anything I have done. It is solely based on what He has done. As Hebrews reminds us:
Brothers and sisters, you can boldly enter heaven's most holy place because of the blood of Jesus.
And if there's one thing the devil does not want you to do, it is pray. Prayer is the Christian's secret weapon, and the devil will do everything he can to keep you from praying.
As believers, our problems don't end, but we have a powerful asset in dealing with them — and that asset is prayer. But as we'll see from our text, there's a right way and a wrong way to pray. A lot of us are carrying burdens God never intended for us to carry. We carry worry, fear, anxiety, and guilt. Prayer is God's invitation to transfer those burdens from our shoulders to His.
How many of you have problems right now? And how many don't have a care in the world? Maybe you're deluded — or maybe you're doing something the rest of us need to be doing more of.
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is Jehoshaphat. He was king of Israel, facing insurmountable odds, attacked by both the Moabites and the Amorites. Militarily, he had no way to equal their force on the battlefield. But he used the one secret weapon we all have — prayer. And he knew God cared about his problem.
Casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
That word casting means to throw something with force — not gently placing it, but taking that burden like a pile of smelly trash and throwing it into the trash truck: "Good riddance, take it away." When the Bible says cast your cares, it means intentionally put them on the Lord. Stop worrying about whatever you're facing, and let God assume that weight.
Max Lucado said it well:
God is not a harried supervisor who gives you 30 seconds of his attention and then moves on. You are the only person in the universe he's thinking about right now.
When you pray, you're not interrupting God. You're not getting in some cosmic line of billions of people, waiting your turn. Much as a child calls out to their father, when you say, "Lord, help me," He hears. He's interested. He cares about what you're facing.
So Jehoshaphat called the people together for prayer:
Lord, we're powerless against this mighty army that's about to attack us, and we don't know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. (2 Chronicles 20:12)
He acknowledges the problem. We don't know what to do, but we know who to turn to.
The king reminds himself and the people of the greatness of God:
God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler over all the kingdoms of the earth. You're powerful and mighty. No one can stand against you. (2 Chronicles 20:6)
I love to quote Scripture when I pray. Why? Not to remind God of something He doesn't know, but to remind me of something I may have forgotten. As I acknowledge the greatness, majesty, and power of God, I begin to see my problem in its proper perspective.
That's how Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord's Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
It starts by contemplating the awesomeness, greatness, and power of God, and reminding yourself that He is bigger than your problem.
Prayer is not informing God of something He doesn't know. Prayer is inviting God into something we can't handle. Let me say that again: Prayer is not informing God of something He doesn't know. Prayer is inviting God into something we can't handle.
And God answered Jehoshaphat's prayer — with the weirdest battle strategy of all time. The Lord said, "Put the worship band ahead of your armies and have them play their instruments and sing songs of praise to God." As they honored and glorified God, the enemy became confused, turned on each other, and defeated themselves.
Often the Lord doesn't work as quickly as we'd like. But the Bible says God makes everything beautiful in His time. Just as important as the will of God is the timing of God.
Now let's look at a story Jesus told about a woman who wouldn't take no for an answer — a model for praying persistently. Luke 18:1–8:
One day, Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up... "There was a judge in a certain city who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, 'Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.' The judge ignored her for a while, and finally he said to himself, 'I don't fear God and I don't care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she's wearing me out.'"
...Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don't you think that God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly.
The main point Jesus makes is that we should always pray and never give up — or as the King James puts it, not lose heart.
We have a choice when crisis comes:
First, we should pray because Jesus told us to. And did He not model this for us? How many times do we read of Christ spending the evening in prayer, talking to His Father? If Jesus, the very Son of God, felt the need to spend time in prayer, how much more do we as mortal human beings need to pray?
Second, prayer is God's appointed way for obtaining things. That can sound selfish, but the fact is God has promised to provide for us. In the Lord's Prayer, right after teaching us to worship, He teaches us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread."
Here's a very important verse:
You have not because you ask not. (James 4:2)
I wonder how many things are not happening in our lives that could be happening simply because we've failed to pray. You say, "I never get the opportunity to lead people to Christ." Have you prayed about it? "I never know the will of God for my life." Have you asked? Scripture says, "If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who will give generously." "Why am I always strapped financially?" Have you asked the Lord to provide? You have not because you ask not.
"Why am I sick? Why has God not healed me?" Have you prayed about it? God does heal. God wants to heal. He doesn't always heal everyone, but He heals many. Maybe someone right now, instead of immediately calling the doctor, needs to first call on the Lord. (I'm all for doctors — but pray too.)
I heard about a man who called the doctor: "Doc, I'm a terrible worrier. I worry about my health, my finances, my job. What can I do?" The doctor said, "Have you tried prayer?" The man said, "I tried that, but I worry that I'm not doing it right." That's the problem — you worry about everything.
Prayer is the way God helps us overcome our anxiety and worry. I have put this to the test time and time again, and it works.
Don't worry about anything. Pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7)
Sometimes we treat worry as a virtue — "Oh, I worry about my children, I worry about this and that." Stop it. Worry is a lack of trust in God. In fact, the word worry comes from a root meaning to strangle or choke — and that's exactly what it does. Martin Lloyd-Jones said:
The result of worrying about the future is you yourself in the present.
When we did our crusade in Australia, they have an expression: "No worries, mate." That's actually theologically sound.
At first blush the story shows two people: the powerful judge and the weaker widow. In that culture a widow was at a distinct disadvantage — normally the husband would represent the family in court, but she had no husband. And she was dealing with a corrupt judge.
But things are not always as they appear. Because she employed the secret weapon of prayer, the woman was actually the stronger one, because God was going to intervene for her. She would not let the judge ignore her. She plagued him until he said, "I can't take it anymore — this woman is driving me crazy."
So what's the point? That God is like a corrupt judge and we have to wear Him out? No — it's the very opposite. Jesus is using contrast. Our loving heavenly Father is the opposite of this judge.
Don't you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? (Luke 18:7)
You have a loving Father who cares about you, who is bigger than your problems, and who wants to answer your prayers. You just need to keep showing up. As Jesus said, "Fear not, little flock. It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." God loves to bless you. You don't have to wear Him out.
Why do some prayers seem unanswered? Actually, every prayer is answered — we just may not like the answer. God answers in three ways:
Now we shift to another story contrasting two people. This one shows how important our attitude is when we pray. Luke 18:9–14:
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else... "Two men went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, the other a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: 'God, I thank you that I'm not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers—and certainly not like that tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give you a tenth of my income.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, 'God, be merciful to 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."
God sees things differently than we do. We judge by outward appearance — this is a good person, this is a bad person.
Let's understand the Pharisee. We think of "Pharisee" as negative, but it wasn't originally. A Pharisee committed to the study and memorization of Scripture and lived by the commandments. There were good Pharisees, like Nicodemus, and bad Pharisees who plotted Jesus' death.
This Pharisee fasted twice a week — commendable. He gave tithes of all he possessed — also commendable. Every Christian should tithe.
People say, "Tithing isn't in the New Testament." In the Old Testament, a tithe meant a tenth — you take a tenth of your income and give it to the Lord to invest in His kingdom. I've done this my entire life, and God has always been faithful to provide for all my needs. He promises a blessing on those who bring the tithes into His storehouse.
In the New Testament the principle is usually expanded. Jesus said, "You've heard it said, 'You shall not murder,' but I say if you have hatred in your heart, it's the same thing." So in the New Testament we do more, not less. A tenth is entry-level giving — training wheels. You bring tithes and offerings, and God will never be your debtor.
So there's nothing wrong with the fact that this man tithed. The problem was he was trusting in his own righteousness. People think, "I've been baptized, I received communion, I read the Bible — therefore I'm right with God." Do those things, but don't trust in those things.
I heard about a multimillionaire revealing the secret of his success: "When I was young and poor, I took my last dime and bought an apple. I polished it and sold it for fifty cents. Then I bought five more, polished them, sold them for $2.50, and kept going until I made a hundred dollars." His listeners said, "So that's how you became a millionaire?" He said, "Oh no. My wife's father died and left us ten million dollars."
That's us. "Oh, I did all these things." No — it's the grace of God. Everything you have has been given to you by the grace of God. It's a gift.
Picture it this way: a minister and a drug dealer go into a church to pray. Mother Teresa and Howard Stern. Billy Graham and Marilyn Manson. We'd say, "That one's good, that one's bad." But it's all about the heart. The Pharisee's heart was in the wrong place; the tax collector's was in the right place.
If you ever find yourself praying, "I thank God I'm not like other people," just stop. But the tax collector wouldn't even lift his face and simply prayed, "God, be merciful to me, the sinner."
People say there's no sinner's prayer in the Bible. Well, here is the sinner's prayer: "God, be merciful to me, the sinner." There's no magic in the words I might lead someone in — it's built on scriptural principles of what a person must do: repent of sin, understand that Christ died and rose again, and receive Him. "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."
So the takeaway: you must admit you're a sinner and come in humility before God, not arrogance. Attitude is everything in prayer.
When you ask God for something and you don't get it, it's because your motive is wrong. You only pray for those things that will give you pleasure. (James 4)
The wrong attitude can cancel out our prayer. People do weird things and call it prayer. Sometimes prayer becomes a chance to brag: "God, I thank you for the time I spent sharing the gospel with 20 people, and as I read the Scriptures at 3 a.m...." That's not a prayer — that's a performance. Or people use prayer to gossip: "Lord, you know that Jim has been unfaithful to his wife, and even his wife sitting here hasn't heard this yet..." That's not a prayer — that's an announcement.
Here's what we've learned so far about how to approach God: with persistence, like the widow; with humility, like the tax collector; and ultimately, like a little child. Luke 18:15–17:
One day, some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. And when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him. Then Jesus called for the children and said, "Let the little children come to me, and don't stop them. For the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these little children. And I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it."
In that culture, the tradition was for a father to lay his hand on the child and pronounce a blessing. So they brought their children to Jesus for exactly that. In Mark's Gospel we read that Jesus took them into His arms and began to fervently bless them. I love that — He welcomed the opportunity.
What a contrast children must have been from all the adversarial, argumentative adults He dealt with daily, with their traps and challenges. Along come these children — laughing, happy, smiling — and He takes them into His arms and enjoys their company. His disciples think it's a horrible thing and shoo them away. Jesus is indignant: "Let those children come to me and stop hindering them."
Like those persistent moms, we need to bring our children to Jesus. Have you done that? You need to pray for your children — not just dedicate them when they're little, but keep praying, especially when they become teenagers.
How do you do that? You model what it means to be a Christian:
As Moses said, teach these things to your children when you get up in the morning, when you lie down at night, and everywhere you go — always weaving your faith into their lives.
How do you receive the kingdom like a child? You become childlike — not childish. There's a difference.
Children come in complete honesty. If they're happy, they laugh; if they're sad, they cry. You know where you stand with a child. And when they're small, they're completely dependent on the parent. When you cradle a newborn, you support their head and neck and treat them with the utmost care — that child depends on you for everything.
In the same way, if we're honest, we are dependent on God for everything, and we need to let Him hold us in His everlasting arms.
Children also know how to receive a gift. Give a gift to a child and they open it immediately. Adults set it aside — "I'll get to it eventually." No — open the gift now! That's what I love about kids: you know where you stand with them, and they come in complete dependence.
I wonder if I'm talking to someone right now who is carrying a burden you were never meant to carry. Worry is strangling you. Guilt is crushing you. Fear won't let you sleep at night.
Jesus says, "Come to me, you who are burdened with life. Come with your burdens." Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
You say, "But I'm not worthy." I hate to break it to you — you were never worthy. On your best day, you weren't even close. But here's the good news: it's not about your worthiness. It's about His love for you. He purchased for you, as Hebrews says, a new and living way into His presence. You've got the proper ID, because you're His child, and He will always hear your prayers.
Sometimes people say we're all children of God. Not really. We're all created by God and loved by God, but we're not all children of God. You become a child of God by being adopted into His family — or as Jesus said, you must be born again. That's what He said to Nicodemus, the religious man, the Pharisee: "You must be born again."
For as many as received him, to them he gave the power to become sons and daughters of God.
You have to receive Christ into your life. Then you have access into God's presence — on your best days, and even on your worst days. When you've messed up, when you've crossed a line, you think, "I can't approach God now, I'm not worthy." You never were. Get rid of the whole "worthy" mentality. You can approach Him through the blood of Jesus Christ.
The devil doesn't want you to know that. Remember the believers in Revelation who overcame Satan, the accuser of the brethren? They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. Because of the blood of Jesus shed on the cross, they could come into God's presence — and so can we.
Prayer — what a privilege. You've been walking around with all those burdens, and here is your Father in heaven, ready to lift them off your shoulders and forgive you of all your sin.
Maybe you don't have the assurance that you're a child of God. You've never prayed that sinner's prayer. You can do it here, now. Christ can come into your life, forgive all your sin, give you the fresh start you've been wanting, and let you know with certainty that when you die you will go to heaven.
Let's pray.
Father, thank you for your love in sending Jesus, your only begotten Son, to die on the cross for our sin and rise again from the dead. Lord Jesus, thank you for your promise of forgiveness to those who believe in you.
If you want Christ to come into your life, if you want Him to forgive your sin, would you lift your hand right now, wherever you're sitting — saying, "I need Jesus today. Pray for me. I want my sin forgiven. I want to know that when I die, I will go to heaven."
Now let me lead you in a prayer. Pray these words out loud:
Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now. I repent of it, and I receive you into my life as my Savior and Lord. Thank you that I am now a child of God and I have this new relationship with you. I pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.
God bless each one of you who prayed that prayer.
