When people pray in groups there is often a temptation to correct the theology of the previous prayer "God our Father and our Mother..." followed by "God we know all the pronouns of you in the Bible are male and that you are always referred to as Father and never as mother...". There is also a temptation to pray for others benefit or to not pray because of your fear of others or because others have prayed for what you have already prayed for. But there is also a group of people who use prayer as a means to show-off, to gossip, or for their own self-righteous intent.
Our passage this week, Luke 18:9-14 deals with two people praying in public, in front of others. This parable is immediately proceeded by the parable of the unrighteous judge, which we will look at next week. This passage, however, continues that theme on prayer. The first man, the Pharisee was someone who was supposed to be a model in the community. Pharisees knew the law better than most and tried to practice it the most. They were often used by the scribes and lawyers as the examples of the best of men, and the example of good people. The tax collectors, by contrast, were viewed with contempt. These were usually Jews who worked for Rome, collecting taxes on Rome's behalf. Often times, these tax collectors would garnish their own wages by raising the taxes of individuals, collecting all the profit from these raised taxes. They were considered traitors in this regard, as they sought their own material gain, exploited their fellow Jews, and worked with Rome.
Jesus puts these stereotypes on their head as He makes the tax collector into the humble man seeking righteousness, and the pharisee as a man praying to himself for his own gain. The Pharisee stood off by himself, elevating himself to a position above others, thanked God that he was not like others, and then sought to justify himself through his works of fasting and tithing. This was not a prayer to God asking for anything, or even exalting God, but rather exalting the Pharisee. In fact Luke says that the Pharisee was praying to himself! (18:11)
The tax collector, by contrast, doesn't raise his countenance, doesn't consider himself worthy of being separate, apart, or holy, but stands off beating his breast asking for forgiveness. The tax collector is the one acknowledging himself as a sinner, and thus in need of a savior. The Pharisee, remember, thought to make himself righteous through his actions of tithing and fasting.
So what does this passage mean in the context of prayer? Well first and foremost, exactly what Luke tells us it means, not to view yourself as righteous and not to view others with contempt. This is especially true when we pray in groups. If you are too caught up on others' prayers and not focused on God, you will begin fault-finding and consider yourself righteous. Or at least you will view others with contempt. This is not to say we should accept all people with terrible theology, but our prayer to God should not be focused on correcting that. Instead we should ask for wisdom and confront them after.
Also we should have no concern over what others think while we pray. Our prayers are for God alone and if we pray multiple times in a group, so be it! Don't multiply your words, but if the Holy Spirit is leading you to pray, then pray! If you are not lead to pray, then remain silent, as God is the one to Whom you should pray, and praying out of obligation to men is not an acceptable prayer to God. Last week we looked at asking for wisdom, well perhaps we need to ask for wisdom on when to pray.
Remember that we are strengthened when we come together as the body. But don't let anyone or one member, especially yourself, become elevated within the body. Instead seek, with humility, to come before God in the group to praise Him, thank Him for the gifts He has given, not what you have done, to confess that we are sinners in need of a savior, and lastly that His will might be done through us, and in our lives.
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