We All Have To Watch Out For This

Day 24   28 Days To Confidence In Prayer

There is one sin which is so prevalent that everyone is susceptible. In fact, if we don’t keep a watch over our own hearts, we will see this ugly one rise up. It’s the sin which caused the beautiful archangel, Lucifer, to become the hideous, evil Satan. That sin is pride, and since his fall, Satan has tried to bring this flaw into the lives of God’s children so that he might disrupt God’s purpose.

So how does this affect our prayers?Remember in the earlier blog we were talking about the sin of Achan (the secret sin which he hid in his tent).When we are allowing sin to continue unabated, God will not allow His power to flow through us. When we allow pride to reign in our hearts, we are entertaining one of the most vicious secret sins.

 One of our commandments is to love our neighbor as ourselves. Pride, by definition, disobeys that rule. When our hearts are in pride, our judgment is clouded, and we see ourselves as innocent and others as guilty, automatically skewing our prayers. Furthermore, when we are in pride, we won’t listen to correction from our Father. The heavens will be brass to us, and we won’t know why.We will think the Father is holding out on us when really He is trying to get our attention.

A truly rich lesson can be learned from Mark 10:23-27

This message is so profound, it should be for everyone in the modern world. So let’s take a look. A very special meaning is wrapped up in the “eye of the needle.” Many Bible scholars see this in an interesting way. The doors in the walls of Jerusalem had smaller doors within them, which many think were called the “eyes of the needle.” When merchants came to the city bringing their wares, the camels had to be stripped down and slid through these entries on their knees. The openings were just large enough for the bare-backed camels to enter, the purpose being to prevent dangerous items from entering into the city. When the camels were stripped, the goods could be examined to be proven secure before they were allowed in.

So what does that have to do with us? We all come into the kingdom the same way – humble and repentant. Whether we are rich or poor, old or young, educated or not, we all come to God the same way. We have to become like bare-backed camels. We have to strip down and take off all the prideful wares we carry around. We come with just our hearts – soft and pliable in His hands. We don’t come bragging on our riches or accomplishments or even our own goodness. We strip down and come to Him knowing that we need a savior just like every other human being from every walk of life.

This attitude is hard for “rich” people. Whether the riches come from material things or achievements, the riches are often our identity. We see ourselves as ” above” others who haven’t achieved that much. This attitude is an abomination to God. How can we love others and have such a haughty attitude? We can’t.

Unfortunately, the modern church is full of haughty people. We are often like the Laodicean church which Jesus rebuked.

In our lives and in our prayers we want to be working with God. So as we get before Him in a quiet place, if we humble ourselves, we will find a tremendous peace and refreshing from Him. And out of that refreshing comes tremendous faith – assurance that He is on our side and we are on His. Together we will see many answers coming into fruition.

Today, let Him show you any areas of pride which have hindered you. Be honest with Him and don’t hold back. He loves you so much, remember, and wants to lift you up.