The Right Way to Pray

MEMORY VERSE: “Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” —Matthew 7:7

LUKE 18:1-14

THE right way to pray is in the spirit of reverence and humility, with the assurance that our Father in heaven hears our prayers and will answer them according to the good pleasure of his will. To pray effectively it is also essential to approach the Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus, pleading the merit of his shed blood to cover our unwilling imperfections. Much of our praying should be in the nature of thanksgiving to God for his great love and for the daily blessings with which he showers us. We should also seek the Heavenly Father’s forgiveness of our trespasses, and petition him to supply our needs as his wisdom and love direct.

The first part of our Scripture lesson stresses the importance of persistence in prayer. The unjust judge of the parable finally granted the widow’s petition, and in verse 7 Jesus asks: “Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?” This is not comparing God to the unjust judge, but emphasizing that if an unjust judge could grant the widow’s request, how much more assurance we should have that God, who is a just Judge, will hear our petitions.

The question, “Shall not God avenge his own elect?” and the answer to this question, in verse 8, “I tell you that he will avenge them speedily,” would seem to indicate that the prayers here being discussed are those of God’s people as a whole; his people, that is, of the present age, who are promised joint-heirship with Jesus in his kingdom. Together with Jesus these are God’s “elect,” yet throughout the age they have been a persecuted people and have suffered much at the hands of their enemies, who have been the tools of Satan.

As for our individual experiences of mistreatment, we are bidden not to seek to be avenged, but to turn the other cheek, and to do good to those who hate and despitefully use us. These trials are helping to prepare the “elect” to live and reign with Christ, and to prove their worthiness to inherit glory, honor, and immortality. When the disciples asked Jesus if they should call down fire upon the Samaritans because they had refused to give them bread, Jesus replied, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”—Luke 9:55,56

But there is to be a reckoning at the end of the age. This would come “speedily,” Jesus said, and then he added, “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith in the earth?” The growing unbelief of the world today is one of the signs of the Lord’s second presence. The world-wide trouble of the present will be climaxed in a great “time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” That will be the prophetic “day of vengeance.” (Isa. 63:4) Out of that trouble will emerge the fully established kingdom of Christ. Through that kingdom and judgment period all the wrongs of the past will be adjusted, and the rebuke of God’s people will be taken away from the face of the whole earth.

The second part of the lesson, beginning with verse 9, stresses the importance of the proper attitude and heart condition on the part of those who pray. Those in the parable who had the wrong attitude were the ones who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others.” The parable cites the case of a Pharisee who “prayed … with himself.” Too many prayers are of this sort, reflecting self-interest and self-glorification. Prayer is not for boasting, but for humble recognition of God’s greatness and our own unworthiness.

The attitude of the publican was in bold contrast to that of the Pharisee. He did not feel worthy even to lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”

Of the publican it is said that he, rather than the Pharisee, went down to his house justified. In other words, his prayer was heard and appreciated by God, “For every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” The Pharisee had exalted himself before God, hoping to establish his own greatness as the basis for receiving divine blessings, but in the end he was abased. The publican, on the other hand, had humbled himself. He had acknowledged his sin and his unworthiness, and in the end he was exalted. This is a very important attitude, especially in prayer. Perchance we might be able to impress our fellowmen with claims of goodness, but God reads the heart.

QUESTIONS

What are some of the essentials of prayer?

When will God’s “elect” be “avenged”?

Explain the lesson of the Pharisee and the publican.

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