In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus contrasts the prayers of two different men. The first man, a highly respected man in the community, expressed thankfulness for the things which people admired in him. He actually was someone whom people looked up to and wanted to be like. The second man, who was despised by the people, expressed a very simple prayer: “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” And everyone would have agreed that this was the only prayer he could pray.
Jesus said that those who ‘lower themselves’ (like the second man) are honored by God while those who ‘raise themselves up’ (like the first man) are not.
Pride is so quick to invade our hearts! In fact, it is actually naturally at home there. How easy it is even to say, “Lord, thank you that I’m not like the proud man!” (Listen to the sermon from Sunday to hear more.)
The most direct way to apply this passage is to pray the prayer of the second man and to let the attitude of that prayer pervade our thinking. Comparing ourselves with others before God is rarely a helpful thing. Whether we thinking highly of ourselves or poorly, either way we tend to make ourselves the focus. How much better to say, “Lord, have mercy.”
How else does pride or humility show up in life? Pray that God would sensitize your heart to your own pride, and to lead you to the humble prayer before him.
