Day 224, Year 1

Humbly Admit Who You Are

“The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:11-14 NASB)

The Pharisee criticized above by Jesus boasted about his righteous deeds and claimed he did not sin like others. This seems to be reminding God of how righteous he was. But this kind of wrong comparison in prayer is not what He wants. It is because this prayer revolves around the proud comparison of his own words and deeds with those of others, and he did not touch the root or essence of his life. Notice at the end of the passage, Jesus says, “He who humbles himself will be exalted.” It turns out that we are truly humble only when we acknowledge our true self, as evaluated by Him. Thus, what Jesus expects is not our distorted self-perception, but how we come as we are before Him.

Anyone who notices his or her life reality and the need for Jesus’ help should pray for God’s mercy. As mentioned previously, no matter what inner struggles we have, be it “valley, mountain, hill, crooked places, rough ways,” etc., as long as we honestly confess to Jesus and ask for His mercy, He will help us and solve our inner problems. However, if we do not realize how deeply we are entangled in sins, should we pray like this tax collector? I don’t think so. This is because if we do not deeply feel that we are sinners and imitate the tax collector’s prayer, we may fall into another kind of false humility. False humility is a form of lying and hypocrisy. Besides, how can a deceptive prayer be heard by God? Thus, if we do not feel bound and forced to sin, we may need to first pray for Jesus’ help to truly know our hidden evil and sins within. 

If you consider yourself in the sinner’s struggle and make this prayer, especially if you are sinned against or compelled to sin, applying this prayer is right. You can even pray with “O Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner” continually, along with the penitential feelings mentioned in the passage, until you begin to feel the awful sin inside and His mercy comes upon you. Anyway, we should earnestly ask for His mercy and pray for His guidance on how we can renew our lives.

Reflection questions:

1) Is your current life condition suitable for you to pray according to the sinner’s prayer mentioned in today’s passage? Why?

2) Are there still problems like “valley, mountain, hill, crooked places, rough ways,” etc., within you that you need the Lord Jesus’ help to deal with? If so, where would you like to ask the Lord to begin helping you?