"God puts a great price on humility of
heart. It is good to be clothed with humility
as with a garment. It is written, 'God resists
the proud, but gives grace to the humble' (James
4:6). That which brings the praying soul near
to God is humility of heart. That which gives
wings to prayer is lowliness of mind. Pride,
self-esteem, and self-praise effectually shut
the door of prayer. He who would come to God
must approach the Lord with self hidden from
his eyes. Humility is a rare Christian grace
of great price in the courts of heaven, entering
into and being an inseparable condition of effectual
praying. It gives access to God when other qualities
fail. Its full portrait is found only in the
Lord Jesus. Our prayers must be set low before
they can ever rise high." E. M. Bounds
Walking
in humility is essential for those who want to
touch the world through prayer. While traveling
in India, I was touched very deeply by the humility
I saw in the Christians. They were clothed in
humility with a remarkable beauty. Now God is
reminding me over and over again to pray, "Lord,
give me a humble heart." None of us can change
the world unless we have a humble heart and unless
we walk in the very humility in which Jesus walked
in. He became nothing and emptied Himself.
Jesus,
we don't really understand the depths of humility
you walked in while here on earth. Am I willing
for that? He died an agonizing death for you and
me. Am I willing to go through pain, misunderstanding
and brokenness for Him as He for us? I was so
challenged by the poor in spirit that my outlook
on life has been radically affected. I want that
spirit of humility that I see in them. May God
give us a revelation of how very important humility
is for effective intercession.
"For
this is what the High and lofty One says, He
who lives forever, whose name is holy;
'I live in a high and holy place, but also with
him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to
revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive
the heart of the contrite.'" (Isaiah 57:14-15)
"For
everyone that exalts himself shall be humbled,
and he that humbles himself shall be exalted"
(Luke 18:14).
Pride is the big "I" of self. What is
brokenness and humility? It is the painful, humiliating,
"Not I but Christ," "not my
will, but Yours be done." You and I can
choose to walk in this most wonderful spirit.
We only have to ask and pray, "Lord, give
me a humble heart that I might fear Your name.
Clothe me in Your robe of humility, and take away
all that does not please You." Let God
touch your heart deeply as an intercessor, so
that Jesus may clothe you with this beautiful
gift of humility and that through that humility,
He may release powerful prayer for all the downcast,
poor and broken-hearted around the world. We must
lay hold of this key.
The
Beauty of Humility
"Do
nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,
but in humility consider others better than
yourselves. Each of you should look not only
to your own interests, but also to the interests
of others. Your attitude should be the same
as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very
nature God, did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped, but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant, being made
in human likeness. And being found in appearance
as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient
to death, even death on a cross!" (Philippians
2:3-8)
The
Path to brokenness - What does God do to break
us?
- Brokenness
comes when we are confronted with the living
word of God - Jesus is a stone to make men
stumble. He who falls on this stone will be
broken. "He who falls on this stone
will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it
falls will be crushed." (Matthew 21:44)
- Brokenness
comes through pain and suffering, but brings
forth character - Paul's thorn in the flesh
is a good example of this. "Not only
so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because
we know that suffering produces perseverance,
perseverance, character; and character, hope."
(Romans 5:3)
- Brokenness
comes when we see where our own way has taken
us - "I know my transgression and
my sin is always before me" (Psalm 51:3-5).
"My sins are more than the hairs of my
head. My heart fails within me." (Psalm
40)
The
Wise Actions of Brokenness - What does a broken
person look like?
- He
doesn't defend Himself - He trusts God to defend.
"Do not take revenge, my friends, but
leave room for God's wrath, for it is written:
'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the
Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry,
feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something
to drink.'" (Romans 12:19-20a)
- He
is ready to be honest about himself - "If
we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves
and the truth is not in us. If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive
us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
(I John 1:8-9)
- He
quickly admits that he has sinned - Pride
will deny that there is the possibility to sin
(the Pharisee and publican). "Against
you, you only, have I sinned and done what is
evil in your sight." (Psalm 51:4a)
- He
is ready to make restitution - "Therefore,
if you are offering your gift at the altar and
there remember that your brother has something
against you, leave your gift there in front
of the altar. First go and be reconciled to
your brother; then come and offer your gift."
(Matthew 5:23-24)
- He
is convinced of his inability to serve God on
his own - He realizes his dependence on
prayer and seeking God's face. He knows that
he can do nothing without God. "Create
in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast
spirit within me." (Psalm 51:8)
The
Blessings of Brokenness - What does brokenness
produce in us?
- It
manifests true humility - "You do not
delight in sacrifice or I would bring it; you
do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken
and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."
(Psalm 51: 16-17)
- It
brings spiritual fruit
- "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel
of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains
only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces
many seeds." (John 12:24)
- It
brings healing - "He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds." (Psalm 147:3)
- It
brings us closer to God - "The Lord
is close to the broken-hearted and saves those
what are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18)
"In
humility there is the total absence of pride,
and it is at the very farthest distance from
anything like self-conceit. There is no self-praise
in humility. Rather, it has the disposition
to praise others. 'In honor preferring one
another' (Romans 12:10). It is not given to
self-exaltation. Humility does not love the
uppermost seat or aspire to the high places.
It is willing to take the lowliest seat and
prefers those places where it will be unnoticed.
Humility does not have its eye on self, but
rather on God and others. It is poor in spirit,
meek in behavior, lowly in heart." E.
M. Bound
Training
Links
|
