Talk Together
Family conversations with God’s Word.
What are some ways the members of your family communicate with each other? You can talk, write letters, text or video call each other whenever you want to share some news, ask a question or just say “hi!”
When it comes to talking to God, it is a little different; the Bible calls that prayer. God wants us to talk to Him; He wants us to pray. When we pray, it is important to remember God wants us to talk to Him honestly, as we would a friend, but also with the humility and respect we might show a king.
Jesus told a parable to help us understand this. A parable is a story that didn’t actually happen but helps us understand a truth about God. Jesus’s story about the Pharisee and the tax collector helps us understand what it means to be proud. Let’s read the story in the New Testament book of Luke chapter 18, verses 9-14.
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He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, 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 off, would not 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 the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The people Jesus talked to believed they were better than others and looked down on people because of how they lived. They were proud.
In Jesus’s story, which of the two men acted proud while praying? The Pharisee did. He wanted people to see him praying. He wanted to remind God that he was better than everyone else.
His eyes were on himself. It was like he was saying, “Look at how great I am! I am not a sinner like those people!” His attitude and heart conveyed, “I am doing great on my own. Why do I need God?”
Instead of standing where everyone could see him, the tax collector stood far off. He felt he didn’t deserve to be in God’s presence because of who he was and what he had done.
In his humility, he could not even raise his eyes to look to heaven. He understood he was nothing without God, and he owned his sin without giving excuses.
Both men went to the temple to pray, but only one man was there to have an honest conversation with God. One man wanted to be in the spotlight; one man wanted to have an intimate moment with God.
Because the Pharisee was full of himself and cared more about his opinion of himself and how others perceived him, he walked away from the temple with nothing but the opinion of others.
The tax collector, on the other hand, walked away from the temple having spent time with God. Because of his humility, he walked away forgiven.
God is near to those who come to Him in truth. When we pray, God wants our hearts to be humble. We are nothing without God, and we can know prayer is a safe place to be completely dependent and honest with God. While we can’t send God a text or email, prayer is how we talk with our heavenly Father. He will always hear us.