Standing in the need of prayer.

"But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God be merciful to me, a sinner.'"

(Luke 18:13)

There was a ministry colleague of mine in Hawaii named Lilo. He was the co-District Lay Leader, and would often be at District events where he'd be asked to pray. I LOVED listening to Lilo pray, because he always prayed with such passion and conviction! One of the things he always said at the start of his prayers was, "O Lord, forgive my sins and hear my prayer..." At first I thought it was simply quoting scripture, but the more I heard him pray, the more I realized it was genuine humility.

There are countless stories in the Bible of leaders (political and religious) whose personal sin got in the way of God hearing their prayers. We're ALL sinners, of course. But sometimes I forget that and assume my prayers have a direct line to God. This parable from Luke 18 reminds me of my need for constant humility. "Forgive my sins, Oh Lord... Only you alone are good." AMEN.