As we have considered the prayers of Jesus over the past few weeks, I hope you have been reminded about how important prayer was in His earthly life. The things He prayed about can be lessons to us on how to pray and about the God we pray to. In Luke 18, Jesus tells two parable about prayer. In these stories we see two things that should characterize our own prayers: persistence and humility.

The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector teaches us to keep our worth in perspective. God values people in a very different way than the world does. He does not show favoritism based on wealth or status. When we come before Him, we must realize His desire to hear our prayer and the prayers of others, His power to take action and His will to decide justly.