THE POWER OF PRIDE

We tend to pray less when things in life are going better, going reasonably good, or we feel like we are in control of the trajectory of our life.  That is because we are part of a society (Man’s world) that has overconfidence and overweening pride at the top and bitter envy at the bottom [read Jeremiah 9:23].  This world is full of a culture of pride of “haves” and “have-nots” both suffering from lack of humility and both guilty of pride. The pride of “haves” is where there is an arrogance that you are responsible for what you “have” (edging/pushing out God) while the pride of “have-nots” is the self-absorbed belief that you deserve better (demanding from God to fix it) [read Proverbs 8:13].  In both cases, they turn God in a distant deity that can either be pushed away or pulled in based on the status of what we have.  Pride is a road to a destructive life both internally and externally [read Proverbs 16:18 & Daniel 5:20].  The story becomes much different when God is in the center of your story as our wise Father and what you have (or not have) serves His planned purposes for your life.  That your circumstances and where you are at are useful to His plans when you make yourself useful to God.  It is not confidence in self but confidence in Christ Jesus [read Romans 12:3].  It is no longer envy due to lack but gratefulness for the life I have for God will work it for my good for those that love Him and called according to His purpose for them [read Romans 8:28].  I will pray equally more for both those things that are good in my life and I will pray more for the things that I don’t understand for not being good in my life [read Matthew 5:45 & Jeremiah 29:11] and my prayers will (become) foundational in asking for grace, humility, wisdom, and peace [read James 4:6].