This Christmas I was given the movie DVD War Room as a gift. Last night we had a family movie night in our theater to watch the movie once again. As I’ve reflected on the various messages in the movie, I caught myself in a Christian-ese world of thought. You know, all scripture is true and is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16), but sometimes we pull pieces and place too much emphasis on different verses. My desire here is to be a man who does his best to present himself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Tim 2:15)

On days when we’re “feeling our oats” or being full of ourselves we like to offer to pray for others and quietly, in our hearts, quote the last phrase of James 5:16 which says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power …” In so doing we puff out our chests in our magnanimous prayers. This verse is absolutely true, but let’s not forget the other side either.

In Luke 18:9-14, we have a very different picture. It is the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Christ tells a parable about a Pharisee who was in the temple square and proudly praying to God out loud saying, “I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector ….” He goes on to expound on all the “righteous deeds” that he does for God in his prayer. Then the scene shifts to the tax collector who is standing far off and would not even lift his eyes up to heaven, but beat his chest saying, “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” Which prayer do you think God heard?

Christ tells us that the tax collector went home justified rather than the uber religious man. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. The word that struck me today after watching War Room is that a family’s life was changed by a woman who fell on her knees before God out of a life of self-sufficiency, declaring her need and dependence on God’s mercy.

As we think about prayer, and how powerful it is, it occurs to me that righteous people are not prideful about their prayers as a righteous person, but rather righteous people know and understand their needs before God. In humility and contrition, we bring our requests to him who changes the hearts of men.

Once again, blessed by the various media God uses to touch our hearts.