“Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a
Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position
and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the
rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax
collector.’” Luke 18:10–11
What a sad prayer. Of course it wasn’t even a prayer to
God since the Pharisee “spoke this prayer to himself.” The prayer of the tax
collector, however, was a perfect model for all prayer. We read that the tax
collector “stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’” Which
prayer more resembles your own prayer?
To honestly answer that question, let’s examine both
prayers. First of all, the contrast of these two prayers is a contrast between
humility and pride. The Pharisee was clearly full of pride. Pride blinds us
from true self-knowledge. Saint Teresa of Ávila teaches us that the very first
thing we must do on our journey to God is obtain self-knowledge through
humility. Without that, we will never grow in holiness.
The sin of pride is obvious in the prayer of the Pharisee
and, therefore, his lack of true self-knowledge is also evident. Note that even
his physical posture of standing depicts pride. Throughout the Scriptures,
kneeling, or even falling prostrate, is the disposition of the humble. In
addition to standing, the Pharisee’s prayer was a list of his own goodness. He
very well may have fasted twice a week and paid tithes on his whole income. But
his prayer suggests that he did this by his own effort. He did not ascribe
those acts to the grace and strength of God, which means they were not true
acts of charity. His prayer suggests that he doesn’t need God in order to do
good. This is also seen in the fact that he asks nothing of God. Instead, he
simply thanks God for how good he is through his own effort. The result is that
God gives him nothing, since he asked for nothing.
True prayer must begin with the humble recognition of our
weakness and need for God. The tax collector expressed this humility by bowing
his head to the ground, not even daring to look up to Heaven. This reveals he
did not consider himself worthy of God’s grace. Truth be told, he wasn’t worthy
of it. That’s why God’s grace is a mercy. It is all mercy in that He bestows
that which we are not worthy to receive. And He only bestows it on those who
know they are not worthy of it. The words spoken by the tax collector are the
perfect model of prayer because his words depict these truths. As a sinner, he
doesn’t deserve mercy but begs for God’s grace as an act of God’s mercy.
When you pray, how do you pray? What is the disposition
of your heart and for what do you pray? Begin by considering the physical
position in which you pray. Though we can pray standing, sitting, kneeling or
even lying down, there is something very good about kneeling or even lying
prostrate. It doesn’t mean we have to do so the entire time we pray, but it is
a good practice to kneel, bow your head or fall down prostrate before God at
least for a moment each day. Do you do this? If not, consider making this a
daily habit.
When you pray, do you begin your prayer with humility? We
begin the Mass by examining our conscience and confessing our sins. This is a
good example of how to begin your prayer every time you pray. Humble yourself
by calling to mind your sins and weaknesses. Confess them to God and
acknowledge the fact that, because of your sins, you are unworthy of God’s
mercy. Humility like this will help you to see yourself as God sees you, and
this will help you open yourself to the grace you need from God to grow in holiness.
Reflect, today, upon the humility found in the prayer of
this tax collector. As you do, look at your own practice of prayer and discern
whether you imitate this tax collector’s disposition and prayer. Try to commit
to physically humbling yourself before our Lord every day. Kneel, bow your
head, or fall down prostrate every day. When you do pray, beg for mercy as one
who doesn’t deserve anything from God. This is the humble truth on which all
prayer must be based. The more you can humble yourself this way, the more God
will lift you up and pour forth His mercy upon you.
O God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I bow before You,
most glorious and merciful God. I offer You my praise and gratitude for Your
abundant mercy in my life. I am not worthy of You and Your grace, but You
bestow it anyway. For that I thank You with profound gratitude and beg for the
ongoing gift of Your grace. Jesus, I trust in You.
