Competing Prayers

“A violent hurricane had struck. People were huddled together. A preacher was praying with great oratorical effects in the midst of this violent storm, crying out “Send us the spirit of the children of Israel, the children of Moses, the children of the Promised land.” At this, an old man with less oratory eloquence but speaking more directness prayed in a very simple and practical way, “Lord, don’t send nobody. Come yourself. This ain’t no time for us to go into a theological discussion with your children, but we need you right now” (source unknown).

This story reminds me of a parable of Jesus in which He contrasts the prayers of a Pharisee and a tax collector (Luke 18:9-14). In his prayer, the Pharisee waxes eloquent about how grateful he is that he is not like those he looks down on and about how much he has to offer to God. The tax collector’s prayer is noticeably different. Rather than being full of himself, the man is acutely aware of his own failings. All he can bring himself to utter is: “God, be merciful to me, the sinner” (v.13).

Of course, the problem Jesus is addressing here is not the relative length or eloquence of the prayers. The issue is not the amount of words used or how well they are spoken. What Jesus is concerned with is the heart or attitude of the one praying (v.9). The prayer of the Pharisee revealed that his heart was full of pride and condescension. The prayer of the tax collector showed that his heart was broken over his own sin. It was this attitude that made his prayer one of true eloquence.

There is nothing inherently wrong with longer prayers that use eloquent words. But the parable illustrates that God would rather hear a prayer of seven words from the heart of a repentant sinner than a prayer of thirty-three words from a heart so full of itself that it can only talk about itself.

God loves you!

Mike