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"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about[a] himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Luke 18 10:-14

It's Morning, Jesus
Do teach me, Lord
The sublime art of weakness.
My flesh wars against it.
My pride stands up against it.
Teach me, Lord
That following after you is not just a matter of pulling myself together
and being a very impressive character who has got everything right in his life.

Forgive me for my attempts to define righteousness so that I can feel
that I have arrived

Help me to understand that any purity I have in my life
I have not achieved on my own
And I cannot possess as my own.

I am not a drug addict Lord
But not by my own righteousness.
I knew the grace of a home that had hedges and walls and barriers to this wolf.
My mother was not a crack addict; my neighborhood was not a drug dealers paradise.
My neighbors were Godly.
My friends were tattle-tales.
Remind me, Lord, of the grace of my beginnings.

I am a sinner, Lord
Give me your concept of righteousness that keeps me in the struggle
Praying for those who fail....not wagging my head
Hurting for those wounded.....not pointing my finger
Pleading for those crippled...not despising their example
Weeping for the blind.........not speculating about their sin
Hoping for the weary..........not gossiping about their plight
Believing in the weak.........not cavorting with the strong
Serving the sick..............not mirroring myself as well.

Grant it, Lord God
That any victory and goodness and blessedness and grace and joy and power that I have in my life...should never replace my delight in you and your grace.
I did not earn the right to sit at my Grandfather's feet while he read the bible
She did not deserve the plight of sitting at a table where her Father cursed her
I did not earn the right to hear my Mother praying
They did not deserve the home where out of the their mother's mouth came curses.
I did not earn my mother's sacrifices for me.
So this morning, Lord
I pray to you
And ask you for the blessing of povery of spirit
I ask you for the blessing of meekness in my soul

Keep me, Lord Jesus
From my tendency to define righteousness
In a way that I can see that I have achieved it.

Show me the sins and temptations of the successful:
Show me judgemental attitudes
Show me pride
Show me smug politeness
Show me insincere flattery
Show me rebellious spirit
Show me selfishness
Show me plotting and posturing
Show me masks
Show me the cold calculations of evil
Show me, if I can stand it, white collar crime.
Show me my culture
Show me gluttony
Show me envy
Show me avarice
Show me lust
Show me anger
Show me sloth

My Lord and my God,
How great you are
How little I am.
How marvelous is your grace toward me.
When I was lost in sin you found me
You put me on your shoulder, like a lost lamb
and carried me.
You never pointed at me
You never wagged your head at me
You never despised me
You loved me.

Great God of heaven
And great lover of all men
Fill me with your love.

Amen