Understanding My Place

So, I probably just experienced one of the best times in my prayer life today. I'm not saying that I've got it all figured out, but one thing that has continually crept up to me spiritually is my lack of humility. I'll be the first to admit, I'm pretty sure of myself, and that I don't really struggle with understanding my "place" wherever I'm at. I'm good at what I do. I possess confidence in my abilities and surety of myself. Sometimes...well, maybe a lot of the time it comes across as arrogance to others. Anybody else recognize this in me? Don't answer...

The other day we were reading as a family a little portion from Luke 18 where Jesus is talking about prayer, that famous little parable about the tax collector and Pharisee praying. I read it and always feel better about myself because I definately don't pray like that Pharisee! Who ever liked a Pharisee anways? Jesus even said that he "prayed to himself" instead of to God, even though he addressed God at the beginning of his prayer. I don't recall ever saying to God that I'm better than all those other people and then proceed to give Him a list of all the great things I've done for Him, implying that He should reward me. I do remember asking God to be merciful to me. But I think we get this parable a little confused with what we should pray about instead of recognizing that these two prayers show us how we should come to God.

We do have a tendancy to ask God for a lot of things that we want. We talk with God about ourselves all the time, don't we? We tell Him about our day, we ask Him for stuff and healing, we sometimes even make the prayers ellegant and nice to listen to, feeling like God definately had to hear that one! Let me challenge you real quickly to go to the bottom of the page and type in the reference in the Biblegateway box and read this short parable to get an idea of what I'm talking about. The reference is Luke 18:9-14.

We've got something messed up about prayer. This isn't a time for us to simply tell God all the things we want or need, God already knows it. Prayer isn't all about ME. Prayer is a moment where we can spend some time telling God just how awesome He is. Seriously, we spend so much time during each day making ourselves look great, feel great, and just making ourselves great. Then we come to God and tell Him that we're not great and need more? Does God ever get a chance to talk in the prayer/conversation?

That parable tells me that God expects us to come before Him with an understanding of who He is when we address Him. I mean, we are talking to the Creator of the universe, the One who loved us enough to send His only Son to die for us, the most holy, most righteous One, the One in charge, Who reigns supreme, clothed in glory. It's not like we're just talking to a friend! Sure Jesus calls us "friend" but understand that it's a privilege to be able to talk with the King, to be in the presence of the Creator on a one on one basis. So if God is all this and so much more, if He is so much greater than we are, if He sent His only Son to die for us, is it too much to ask for a little humility when we pray? A little reverence? A tad bit of respect for the Love? Is it really going to kill us to be on our knees? Or stand in His presence like we would if the Judge were to walk in the room? Are we really "good enough" to sit? Have we devalued who God really is when we pray, when we address Him? Just some thoughts...

Prayer is a moment where we can recognize God's GREATNESS over our own...our own puny greatness that disappears as soon as it comes. Let me challenge you, the next time you pray to God, spend the first few moments to recognize Who you're talking with. Mention how great He is. Tell God thank you for being a hiding place in the storm, a rock to hold onto, your salvation. Let God come first this time. And don't pray about your stuff until you really believe you've grasped an understanding of exactly Who it is you're talking with. Let me tell you, when you understand your place in prayer, nothing will be the same for the rest of the day. You get lost...lost in honest praise, in honest worship, in honest repentance, in honest purpose. We've got to understand our place: God is God and I am not.

Leave me a comment.