Spiritual Prescription THE PRAYER OF HUMILITY
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. James 4:10.
Anybody knows that in order to get acquainted or stay acquainted with someone else, you have to talk to that person. That's what prayer is all about. If the entire basis of the Christian life is a relationship, then prayer is an absolute necessity. There is no substitute, there is no alternative. For a blind man, there might have to be some alternative to reading the Bible--but there is no alternative to prayer.
How can this communication with God through prayer become meaningful? We are told that "nothing is more essential to communion with God than the most profound humility" (Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 50). Consider the story of the Pharisee and the publican, recorded in Luke 18:11: "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men..." And he went on to list his good behavior. Now in what sense was he not like other men? Externally or internally? It would have to be outward actions he was referring to. But the publican, "standing afar off, would not life up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." And the publican went down to his house justified, rather than the other.
The Pharisee could, by his own strong willpower, make his outward life correct. But his heart remained unchanged. It is only those who, with the publican, recognize their inability to do anything toward making themselves right with God, except to come to Him and admit their desperate need of His grace, that are justified.
It is more than just a matter of saying the right words. "The lips may express a poverty of soul that the heart does not acknowledge. While speaking to God of poverty of spirit, the heart may be swelling with the conceit of its own superior humility and exalted righteousness. In one way only can a true knowledge of self be obtained. We must behold Christ. It is ignorance of Him that makes men so uplifted in their own righteousness."--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 158. If we desire communion with God, we can contemplate Christ and invite His Spirit to bring us to that humility essential for communion with Him.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. James 4:10.
Anybody knows that in order to get acquainted or stay acquainted with someone else, you have to talk to that person. That's what prayer is all about. If the entire basis of the Christian life is a relationship, then prayer is an absolute necessity. There is no substitute, there is no alternative. For a blind man, there might have to be some alternative to reading the Bible--but there is no alternative to prayer.
How can this communication with God through prayer become meaningful? We are told that "nothing is more essential to communion with God than the most profound humility" (Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 50). Consider the story of the Pharisee and the publican, recorded in Luke 18:11: "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men..." And he went on to list his good behavior. Now in what sense was he not like other men? Externally or internally? It would have to be outward actions he was referring to. But the publican, "standing afar off, would not life up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." And the publican went down to his house justified, rather than the other.
The Pharisee could, by his own strong willpower, make his outward life correct. But his heart remained unchanged. It is only those who, with the publican, recognize their inability to do anything toward making themselves right with God, except to come to Him and admit their desperate need of His grace, that are justified.
It is more than just a matter of saying the right words. "The lips may express a poverty of soul that the heart does not acknowledge. While speaking to God of poverty of spirit, the heart may be swelling with the conceit of its own superior humility and exalted righteousness. In one way only can a true knowledge of self be obtained. We must behold Christ. It is ignorance of Him that makes men so uplifted in their own righteousness."--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 158. If we desire communion with God, we can contemplate Christ and invite His Spirit to bring us to that humility essential for communion with Him.
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