Sometimes we sweat the small stuff about faith - rules, hypotheticals, technicalities. Jesus redirects us to the big picture - that God's love for us is far greater than the limits of our understanding.
Jesus said the unscrupulous tax collector, not the righteous Pharisee would go home right with God, after describing their acts of prayer. What did the tax collector do that the Pharisee didn't? How do we get right with God?