January 18th, 2026: Prayer and Humility | Genesis 18:25-27, Luke 18:9-14

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6, 9-13).

The most significant weapon in the Christian arsenal is prayer.  Yet, talking to God in prayer is the most neglected and underestimated strategy of our Christian walk. Jesus Himself gave us the pattern of how to pray and what to say.  He used it Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

What is your prayer life like? Is it consistent?  Do you send up a quick wish list?  Do you only pray when in need or afraid? We are welcome to tell God what we need, and it is okay to cry out to Him when we are in distress, but you may be living far beneath your privilege if you are limited to these prayers alone.  Prayer is NOT about perfect words; it is about a perfect God who understands us completely.  Don’t use prayer to look holy or sound spiritual to others.  Prayer is a conversation; it is intimate, honest, and effective.  It is all about opening our hearts to our creator, fully expecting, through faith ,to be heard and answered by  God. 

Genesis 18: 25-27

That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

In Genesis, Abraham and Sarah, now older and more mature in their faith, are visited by three men. It is unclear whether Abraham immediately knew they were heavenly visitors; we are not told.  We find Abraham bowing to the leader and, as was the custom of hospitality,  hurrying to prepare a generous meal for the travelers. Biblical scholars believe this conversation includes a pre-Bethlehem conversation with Jesus. 

Christophanies or theophanies, as they are sometimes called, are instances of God visibly appearing in some manner, most often in human form, to people with messages of importance.  In this section of scripture, the LORD is sharing with Abraham the destruction He is planning for Sodom and Gomorrah. Scripture tells us why… Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. (Genesis 18: 18-21).

Abraham had some questions.  His relationship with God was such that he could respectfully ask about anything. This conversation was a two-way discussion. The key line that shows the heart of Abraham toward the LORD is Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? Abraham confessed that God is just. He does the right things. Abraham’s heart is right with God, and he has learned to trust God’s character. That is exactly what the goal of prayer should be: to align ourselves with the righteous wisdom of God.  We prepare our heart to be receptive to God. Abraham intercedes on behalf of Lot, his nephew and his family, who lived in the city of Sodom, where God’s judgment was about to take place. When we pray, we should intercede in prayer for those around us and not just focus on ourselves. Abraham goes back to his tent, believing that God is just. When things are out of your control, can you do the same? 

Luke 18: 9-14

And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon 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 every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Jesus told a parable to help those present understand a very important principle of prayer. Don’t miss that Jesus spoke to those who trusted in themselves to be righteous, while looking down on and despising others. Their heart was not in the right place to pray. Humility and Repentance allow us to come before God’s throne in prayer with the right attitude.  They assumed their good deeds would make them more worthy of God's listening. Their arrogance was loud and obvious. Pridefully despising others profoundly damages our prayer life. Sowing discord is also something God calls an abomination in the book of Proverbs. So, Jesus compared the prayer of a  religious leader to the prayer of a lowly publican. The crowd would most assuredly have assumed that the religious Pharisee would have his prayer heard and answered. After all, he was the “expert” in the things of God. Notice that Jesus said that  he prayed with himself. He was petitioning God, in a way he was lecturing God about his own self-righteousness.  Jesus says he was not justified.  To be justified is to have no sin separating us from God, all sin cleared and our relationship made whole.  His heart and his  motive were all wrong. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. (Matthew 6:5).

The publican was a tax collector, and one of the most despised professions of the day.  Tax collectors were thought of as traitors to the Jews because they worked for their occupiers, Rome. Interestingly, Matthew, the author of the gospel of Matthew, and  Zaccheus were tax collectors. The crowd present when Jesus taught this parable did not expect the publican to be  justified and  the Pharisee dissatisfied.    

The publican would not even lift his eyes to heaven.  Why?  Because he recognized the holy and righteous character of God.  He knew that God is perfect and that He did not deserve an audience with Him.  He was honest about the fact that he was a sinner.  He did not claim that he had done many great and wonderful things to impress God and qualify him to be heard. He knew his faults. He approached God in humility and in awe, he had  the correct attitude. He knew he was unworthy and that God is just.   The publican asked for mercy.  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. (Matthew 6:7-8). Jesus said that this man, the publican,  went to his house justified.  

So what lessons should we apply? Prayer is our lifeline and our sacred communication with God. God requires repentance and honor, and Jesus modeled that in His prayer.  Our hearts need to be prepared for a two-way conversation that begins with repentance and praise, followed by a confession of our need, and ending with surrender and reverence for God Almighty. Prayer is not only a hasty wish list, a task to check off our list, and certainly not a burdensome requirement. Prayer is a great privilege, the opportunity to be known and to grow in the knowledge of the character of God.  It is a building block in the relationship with your Father.  It requires respect and honesty, faith, and surrender before God.

How hard is it to pray?  How do you talk to your best friend, your family, or anyone else that you love?  You can talk with an expectation that God wants to hear from you.  You can come to talk to Him, knowing that God delights in your successes. God knows your failures and your disappointments.  He is waiting for you to ask for forgiveness, strength,  and courage.  God  will offer suggestions or bring scripture to mind for you to ponder that make you wiser and allow you to know Him better. Prayer is not about how good you are.  It is about how good God is and His most excellent plan for our lives. It is His will that we should ask for.  If we try to justify ourselves and solve everything by our own worldly wisdom, we leave no room for him “that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” (Ephesians 3:20).  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to miss an opportunity for God to do much more than I expected! 

There are a lot of questions we have about relationships and the hurt we have regarding people, the pain of death, and tragic happenings occurring around us. Why did God allow this?  Couldn’t He have stopped that?  Why do good people suffer?  We may not be able to understand but boldly we can know that God will do right. In faith, you will learn that He cannot deny Himself - He will always do right.  He sees the event from all sides, and we do not. Do you know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose? (Romans 8:28).  He is worthy of thankfulness and praise.

Life is But a Weaving

By Corrie Ten Boom 

My life is but a weaving

Between my God and me

I cannot chose the colors

He weaveth steadily

Oft times he weaveth sorrow

And I in foolish Pride

Forget He sees the upper 

And I the underside

Not til the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly

With God unroll the canvas

And reveal the reasons why

The dark threads are as needful

In the weaver’s skillful hand

As the thread of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned

He know, He loves, He cares;

Nothings this truth can dim. 

He gives the very best to those

Who leave the choice to Him 

Thank you for studying with us! God bless!