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 (Luke 18:9-14).
Today's Morsel: Do you ever find yourself being critical of other's prayer life and style of prayer? When I first became a Christian, I felt many people were being showy with their prayer life by their continuous praying out loud in tongues, raising their voices loud when calling out people's names and needs in their prayers. There were even times that I felt that people weren't praying long enough, and that most of them weren’t even serious about prayer. People would come for prayer, kneel down for a few moments, and up talking within a matter of minutes. So I was critical of their prayer life. You know, I found myself thinking I was more spiritual than they were. I mean, I was at a higher level in my prayer life than they were and there was no way that their little prayers were getting through to God. They just didn’t seem to pray long enough in my eye. This might have all been true, but God checked me. In God's eyes, my attitude about prayer and other's prayers stunk. We should never become critical of another persons prayer life or their style of prayer, nor should we try to fit others into our mold of prayer. A square peg, as my son always says, is not going to fit into a round hole. Scripture says that we must all work out our own salvation, and I believe that that even includes our prayer life. Remember, it’s not how long you pray, when you pray, where you pray, nor how loud you pray; it’s your attitude when you pray that God is concerned with. My prayers are with you today!
Sing: Whisper a prayer in the morning, whisper a prayer at noon, whisper a prayer in the evening, to keep your heart in tune.
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