Um, I want to look at a very familiar passage, Luke 18, nine through 14, and it's the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. And think about this today with, um, prayer specifically in mind, we think about self-righteousness in mind, and that's definitely a, the dominant theme in the passage is a warning against self-righteousness and pride. Um, but there's also, it's, it's interesting that the way that that self-righteousness expresses itself is in prayer in the parable that Jesus tells us. So starting in verse nine, it says, he told this parable also to some people who trusted in themselves, that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt. So who those people, he knows who they are. Jesus can see right into the heart and see what's there. So he's saying this directly to these people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. And they some people, of course, wear that on their face, you know, it Jesus can see through the best disguise. But then there's some people who don't even disguise it very well, you know. The scripture talks about a haughty look and proud eyes and things like that. And so he's directing this directly at them. And when we think that we're righteous and the righteousness that we think we have is not based on the righteousness of Christ imputed to our account through faith. Uh, then we, it's a righteousness of our own making the one that we are establishing one that we are working on to develop. We do certain things that make us feel righteous. We don't do certain things that we would perceive as wrong. And that's our confidence. Our confidence before God even is that rather than Christ, rather than his righteousness imputed to us. And so once we have that view of ourselves and view ourselves as righteous, we can't help but look with contempt upon other people. and those who are not playing the game as well as we are and who are not quite winning at it like we are. And we always cherry pick out of the population, those people whose lives are, you know, obviously out of control and who are living in open debauchery or whatever the case may be. We look at them, not at genuinely righteous people that might make us feel bad about ourselves. So he tells that to those people who trusted in themselves. And then the parable verse 10, two men went up into the temple to pray one, a Pharisee and the other, a tax collector Republican. And, uh, you know, stop there. The Pharisees, as you know, were very religious. Um, the tax collectors were despised and hated. They are traitors. They are Jews who work for the Roman government and they show up at your door, like, uh, you know, like maybe the new 87,000 IRS workers, uh, that have been hired might. And they've got the Roman sword behind them and they're going to collect taxes and nobody likes taxes anyway, but especially not when it is by a foreign government that has taken over your country. And then they tax you to pay for their own oppression of you. So there's a bitter pill with that. And then on top of that, these are Jews who are willing to take this job and, uh, be in compromise in a sense. And then they tax you extra beyond what the Roman government does. And they pocket the rest and they get rich off of it. And it's very difficult to do anything about them because they've got Roman power behind them. So there's a reason to dislike tax collectors. Uh, there's a reason they dislike them. Uh, but they both go into the temple to pray and see that both, um, are. You know, entering the place of worship and in church today, we have, we have Pharisees and we have centers and, uh, we have people that are very proud of themselves. We have those who are trusting in themselves and we have those who look to the mercy of God and they're both in the same building oftentimes, and they're both engaged in prayer. or at least outwardly so. Verse 11, the Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself. God, I thank you that I am not like other people, swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I pay tithes of all that I get. So, he's praying. I mean, he's he's uttering words that it has the outward form of prayer. He in one sense sounds like maybe he's talking to god but he isn't really. Um he's praying to himself. He has, he's thinking of himself, not god. He's not thinking of the majesty and holiness of god. He's thinking about himself and he's thinking about how much better he is than other people, including this tax collector. And he's not really thanking God that he's not like them. He's thanking himself that he's not like them. When your righteousness is of your doing, you can't thank God for it. You thank you for it. And so a truly grateful person who is grateful to have been given a gift of righteousness and knows that he would be condemned if he did not have that gift, who knows that the righteousness that he has is borrowed from the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus earned it. I didn't. And it was put in my account by grace through faith. then I'm, if I believe that, then I'm grateful to God. And I don't look down on the swindlers and the unjust and the adulterers and the tax collectors, because I know that I would be just like them and am in many ways just like them, apart from the grace of God. The Pharisee rehearses his great sacrifices. He fasts twice a week. That was nowhere commanded in the Old Testament. So he's going above and beyond the call of duty. It's like the Roman Catholic doctrine of supererogation, where you do works above and beyond the call of duty, and you get brownie points for that. Maybe you get some years shaved off of purgatory because you got extra credit. And that's as old as the hills. We see it right in the New Testament before Catholicism was ever born. Uh, he fasts twice a week and he's reminding himself of that. Maybe God's listening and he can remind God of that as well. He pays tithes, which he should, that was obligatory. Um, and he pays tithes of all that he gets, but he's proud of that fact. And he thinks that is, um, that earns him accolades. And that's a reason to be, uh, very self-satisfied. But the tax collector, verse 13, standing some distance away, so he's not able to even approach as close as the Pharisee is. The Pharisee has this bold self-confidence that causes him to come near, in spite of the fact of who he is, and what's in his heart, and all his pride and arrogance, doesn't hinder him. He comes right up, the tax collector not so, he's standing some distance away, and he's unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. He is so ashamed of himself, he won't even look up. But he was beating his breast, saying, God be merciful to me, the sinner. And the beating of his breast is not the monkish self-flagellation where you think you're earning merit with God by Um, punishing yourself, um, it's, it's just a reflexive action that indicates his, uh, his, his humility and his view of his own sin that doesn't make him feel good about himself. Um, and he has a simple prayer. If ever there was a sinner's prayer, this is it. God be merciful to me, the center. And so that's who he is. He's the center, not just a center. He's the center. That's his title. He didn't say God be merciful to me, the tax collector. God be merciful to me, the Jew. It's God be merciful to me, the sinner. We hear a lot of talk today about identities and what do you identify as. This man identified as a sinner and he had one simple request. God be merciful to me. I've got nothing to give you but sin. I've got no anything. I've got nothing to trade with you. Nothing to barter with where I give you this. You give me salvation in return. I'm not offering you my wonderful life and in return you give me eternal life. I'm not offering you my heart. I'm not offering you a life of service. I'm a sinner. I haven't got anything to offer. Here's my sin. That's all I can offer you. If you would take it. And please be merciful to me. And then Jesus says in verse 14, I tell you, this man went to his house, justified rather than the other justified means to be declared righteous before God. He went away righteous before God for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. And so just a few comments on, on prayer. We, um, you need to come in prayer, obviously like the tax collector, not the Pharisee. And we come humbling ourselves before the Lord, not exalting ourselves before the Lord. And there's certain things that, uh, you know, that, that are a danger that happened quite naturally in church that we have to be aware of. And it happens with children. And it's one of the ways that children are deceived. Um, We're born in sin. We don't come into this world righteous. We come in lost, needing a savior. And that's the way we are until we're saved. And yet when we're reared in the church, oftentimes this thing happens and nobody necessarily means it to happen this way. It's just something to be watching out for and to be careful about, wherein we can deceive our children into their, their true state. before God, pre-conversion, there can be this idea that, well, because I'm in a Christian family, I'm good to go. And then they hear us praying as adults, perhaps, maybe we have family worship in the home, and we adults, we pray a certain way, and we use the first person plural pronoun a lot, we instead of I, and we pray for other people, and that's good. Um, we should pray for other people and their needs. Um, not suggesting that's something we shouldn't do. I'm just saying there is a hidden danger in it. If we never get to the point of I and my need and Lord, I need you, um, not coming from a position of strength and righteousness. And I'm a, I'm a benevolent one. I'm a benefactor helping beneficiaries in prayer. I'm always praying for other people and their needs. And that's, that's the main concern. I don't have any, I'm just praying for other people and their needs. And so we pray for this person and we pray for that person and we pray for them and they, and we pray for these adulterers and these tax collectors and these unjust and swindlers and so forth. And again, I'm not saying those that's inherently wrong to do that. It can be love your neighbor, but I'm just, looking at the hidden danger where this idea can creep in if we're not careful, if we never say, Lord, help me. Lord, me too. I've got problems. I've tried to, I don't know that I've been as consistent as I should be on this, but I've tried to with my children. require them to when they participate in the public prayer meeting, if they pray to pray for themselves first before they start praying for other people. And particularly if they're not converted yet, I want them to pray. as unconverted, but I don't want them to just slide through that process of where it, no, there, I have to get me fixed first. I need to be saved. I can't just leapfrog over that issue and go right into praying for other people and their salvation. That might seem like wisdom. It might seem like, well, you're loving your, you're being selfless and loving your neighbor. It can also be just self-deception. And so, um, I've been trying to, uh, examine myself and, um, my own prayer habits and, you know, children imitate their parents. And if they hear me just praying for other people all the time, and they don't ever have a sense that dad has problems and dad needs help and dad. The dead needs mercy. And they just imitate me. When they missed the point, I guess I'm done. Thanks.