Humility

I told a story of two men who prayed. One was self-justifying and full of himself. The other would not even raise his face to heaven but cried out for mercy for his sins. I said that he went away justified rather than the other man. Ever since it has been accepted that humility and contrition are necessary in prayer. You don’t have to hear many prayers of the first type to realize that they are wrong. Humbling yourself under my mighty hand that I may exalt you in due time is a universal spiritual principle, but it is especially true for prayer. Are you aware of how much you need mercy? If you ask me for it you can be certain that I will give it to you.