Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like this: ‘God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down 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 18:10-14
In this parable, Jesus gave us two examples of prayer. The first one was from a Pharisee. His prayer was more about himself. In two verses, he mentioned himself five times while he mentioned God once! The Pharisee was so absorbed with himself, he was justifying himself to God. He came in pride and relied on his good works thinking these could save him. Jesus described the tax collector as standing far away and would not even lift up his eyes to heaven. The tax collector did not feel worthy and came before God in humility and was begging God for mercy. The Pharisee's focus was himself but the tax collector's focus was God's mercy. Jesus commended the repentant sinner. This is what prayer is. It is all about God. It is an opportunity to know God and his mercy. It is about developing a deeper relationship with him. If we come before God in humility, ready to listen, he will reveal himself. If we come to God full of ourselves, where else will God put himself? With prayer, God molds us to his image. In prayer, God shows us his will. In prayer, we open ourselves to him to a point that what I want and what I think God wants becomes what God thinks and wants. When God reveals his will, it now depends on us on how to respond. The prayer of Jesus before he raised Lazarus (John 11:41-42) is also interesting, "Father, I thank you that you listened to me. I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude that stands around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” His prayer was not for himself. It was for the benefit of those who heard him. The purpose was so they could believe him. Whereas other prayers should be outward, the prayer of Jesus was to himself. He did not even ask the Father to raise Lazarus. By turning his prayer to himself, Jesus is telling us he is God and he raised Lazarus by his own power. Our prayer should also lead others to know God. Prayer does not have to be long. Jesus told us not to babble like pagans when we pray. We cannot listen to him when we are busy talking to him. In prayer, we sit and wait and listen. If prayer is an opportunity for God to reveal himself, we do everything to open ourselves to him. Some things we can do is to adore him before the Blessed Sacrament. If we believe Jesus is physically present in the Blessed Sacrament, then we will always seek time to be with him. Another way is to pray over scripture. Jesus is the Word of God. Reading scripture also leads us to a deeper knowledge of God. I am saddened and annoyed when I hear people say they have fulfilled their obligation by doing good. Our faith does not depend on good deeds. It depends on Jesus. Christianity is a relationship with a person - Jesus. If we do good to the neglect of our relationship with Jesus, we are like the Pharisee who obeyed the Law strictly but was full of himself. In this case, he became his own god. If we also rely on our good deeds, then we become our our god. Our relationship with others should be based on our love for God. It is not the other way around. Lord Jesus, I want to see you. I want to have a personal relationship with you. Come and reveal yourself to me. Come Lord and help me see you.
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