Prayer.....notes from Luke 18:9-14

I just read the notes on prayer in the St. James Daily Devotional Guide, by Patrick Henry Reardon....He points out three characteristics of pure Christian prayer from the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector......the theological structure of prayer. In this parable, prayer is not purely private devotion, but is set in the context of "organized religion." 1. The two men "went to the temple to pray." They could have prayerd anywhere....in the woods, at the beach, etc, but they chose to make a special trip to the temple, a special house set apart for the purpose of worship. .....It was corporate prayer in this parable ....but one prayer was justified, the other was not....why? 2. The publican's prayer was persistent. He was not afraid to repeat himself in prayer. The publican prayer "Lord, have mercy" was repeated many times........ Maybe he was singing the Kyrie eleison....The pharisee seemed to be giving extemporaneous oratories to God of all his own good deeds to justify why God should listen to him. 3. The publican's petition was for divine mercy. It was a "pure" prayer of humility and repentance. It was not self-righteous, puffed up, or seeking its own fulfillment or seeking to "justify" himself. He goes on to say that a man who prays with spiritual purity stands in stark contrast to those who pray in order to find some sort of personal spiritual uplift or devotional high. He says that these qualities are not essential to pure prayer and that they may serve as distractions...and what is important is the faithfulness, purity and unselfishness of prayer. "The Publican's prayer represented the gift of himself to God. True, it was a poor gift, because he was a sinner, and he knew it. Yet, according to Jesus, 'this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.' Such is the prayer of the man who is justified by faith, not by his own merits. His prayer is pure because it is based soley in the mercy of God. This is the prayer that Jesus teaches in the parable of the Publican."