Read or summarize Luke 18:1-14
1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Here is a way that we summarized it and mixed in a few scriptures. I find it important to use both, so that children learn the language of the scriptures.
These scriptures teach about two parables. In the first parable there was a judge. He didn’t care about God or what happened to anybody. A widow came to him and asked him to avenge, her for someone who was not nice to her. In other words, someone did something to hurt or offend her, and she wanted him punished for it.
At first, the judge didn’t do anything, but then he realized that if he didn’t, the woman might keep asking him about it, so he just did as she asked, so that she wouldn’t bug him again.
Jesus said:
7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
In other words, God suffers through all of your trials with you, and Jesus Christ atoned for them. They will be with you, no matter how long it takes, and God will help you to feel justified for them.
In the second parable, Jesus told of a Pharisee and a Publican who went into the temple to pray. The Pharisees were the religious leaders, and the publicans collected money from the people to help pay the government.
The Pharisee prayed to God and said that He was way better than everyone else, because he did not sin as they did. Then, he prayed and told God all of the righteous things he did, such as fasting twice a week and paying his tithing.
The Publican knew that he had done wrong things, so he was ashamed to even look up, and so he just asked God to forgive him because he knew he wasn’t perfect.
Jesus said:
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Meaning that the Publican was forgiven and taken to Heaven and not the Pharisee, because the Publican was humble, recognized his need to repent, and didn’t think he was better than other people.
Discuss
What do these two parables teach us about prayer?
God does not mind waiting with you, while you wait for the appropriate time for your prayers to be answered.
God’s answer to your prayers come from a loving God, who wants to bless you in the best way possible. He doesn’t just answer your prayers so that you’ll stop asking for the same thing over and over.
Be humble when you pray. Don’t think that you are better than others because of what you do or don’t do. Be the best person you can be, and Heavenly Father knows when you are trying your best and will reward you for your righteousness.
When you recognize your sins and ask Heavenly Father for forgiveness, you will receive it, and become more like Him.
Watch
Click the picture below to see how we did this lesson.
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