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 18:10-14)
Today's Morsel: Sharing with our Bible study group a few weeks ago, I asked them if they thought we can ever get to the point in our lives that we don't ask God for anything when we go to Him in prayer and just get into the habit of simply thanking Him for who He is, and what He has done? I asked, "What if when we go to Jesus in prayer, we just began by saying, 'Lord I thank You that I have eyes to see, ears to hear You speak to me and ears to listen to my fellow man cry out for help. I thank You for my knees that I can bow upon before you, my hands that I can lift in adoration and praise to You, and lips that I can open and speak words of exultation and praise to You, and can be used to teach Bible studies to others. I thank You for the feet You have given me to walk and to carry the gospel to others, and I thank You for the men and women who had foresight to build a church that we could come and worship in." You see, God already knows what we have need of before we ask Him, so why not just thank Him in advance. The Publican, in a way, was simply thankful to be able to just ask God to be merciful to him. This kind of prayer will always reach the throne of God.
Sing: Thank You Lord, for saving my soul. Thank You Lord, for making me whole. Thank You Lord, for giving to me, Thy great salvation, so rich and free.
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