ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF PRAYER Luke 18:1-14 First ...

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with contempt, they both look down on the spiritually less committed. Jesus told this parable,
verse 9, “to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with
contempt.”
So the tax collector becomes our model. The tax collector recognizes great need. This person
recognizes that God is needed desperately in their life. This person throws himself on God's
mercy.
When we "succeed" all by ourselves, the normal tendency is to either boast of our
accomplishments or compare ourselves to other less "successful" spiritual people. But when we
recognize that we need God's mercy and strength and grace to fully live- that can be so
liberating. When we say “God, I can't do this anymore. I need help. I need your guidance. I
can't do this myself.” When we throw ourselves on God's mercy- that's a great place to be. Far
better, Jesus says than thinking we are "sitting pretty" spiritually. “All who exalt themselves will
be humbled, he said, “all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
The late Alex Haley, who authored Roots used to have a picture in his office of a turtle sitting
on top of a fence post. The picture reminded him of a lesson he learned early in his life: If you
see a turtle on a fence post, you know it had some help. Alex Haley used to say: "Any time I
start thinking, Wow, isn't this marvelous what I've done! I look at that picture and remember
how this turtle- me - got up on that post."
Most of us are like that turtle. We had some help along the way- from parents, teachers, youth
leaders, coaches, spouses, from God. Humility is not about belittling ourselves or lacking
confidence. Humility is simply having a true perspective. Charles Spurgeon, the 19th century
preacher, once said that "humility is to make a right estimate of oneself." The apostle Paul in
Romans 12:3 writes: “I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought
to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has
assigned.” That’s humility. Humility is recognizing that we had some help to get up on that
fence post.
So we approach God with humility- recognizing our place and our need for God. We approach
God with respect, reverence, and awe. When we pray, we recognize God's sovereignty and
great love for us. We don't need to demand and rant at God. The thing about persistence is
that being persistent can easily turn into being demanding. Being humble can save us from
that.
And so we pray. We realize that God will listen and give us justice. We know that God loves us
and wants us to keep expressing our concerns. When we pray we also recognize our role. God
is God and we are not. We trust in God's continual oversight and deep love for the world. We
pray then with persistence and humility.