Pray for America - Day 16

“For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,” says the Lord. “But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.” 
– Isaiah 66:2

DAY 16: "A Prayer That God Hears"

Many great prayer warriors can usher us straight to God’s throne through their prayers. Sometimes we will join in prayers that can seem too lengthy, and at other times not long enough. Are we weighing the significance of our prayers by their length or how eloquent they are in the words we speak? Or is humbleness the key to our prayers being heard?

Through the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, we learn about prayer. The Pharisee, confident in his own righteousness, listed everything he did right. Instead of giving God praise and petitioning for his sins to be forgiven, he thanks God that he is not like others he considers less righteous. The tax collector, who wouldn’t look up to heaven, instead beat his breast pleading to God to be merciful to him, a sinner. Because of his humble prayer, the tax collector was justified before God.

The lesson for us when we pray is to have a heart that is grieved by our sins, to confess them before our holy God and to be completely dependent upon His grace to forgive us. May we humble ourselves before our loving Father, together exalt His holy name, and ask Him to forgive our sins as a nation and as His people.