Psalm 138:6 –
Though the LORD is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud.
Take a look at verse 3 first, it starts with: “As soon as I pray, you answer me.” That took me a bit since we all can probably make a long list of unanswered prayers. I often wonder is this a truth, promise or an example? I know Jesus said in John 14 ask anything in “My” name and it will be given to you. So it is a truth, but how many of us have prayed for a specific “partner” that did not happen, or the job that did not happen, or the lottery that did not happen … or the … This prayer is an example of faith that God will ANSWER, we just may not like what He has to say.
Now this may be the key to figuring out the secret of praying and getting the right answer. Humble yourself before God! Don’t give God a laundry list of everything you desire and end it with “I want it now!” No Jesus prayed it right when asking for his life, “your will be done.” I am sure He wanted to not have to go through the pain and suffering, but He understood the importance of God’s will.
The other big not is one of my pet peeves, pride! Pride is one of those things where we “exult” ourselves over others and eventually this will lead to putting ourselves before God. There are many emotions that eat at our moral fiber, envy, greed, jealously and the like, but pride tends to sneak in without us knowing. We do things and people congratulate us, we start to give ourselves the credit and not God. Sure on the surface it may be your skills that enabled you to perform, but ask yourself what is the source of those skills? It’s something I need to keep in “check” constantly, the key is just give credit where credit is due. Accept praise humbly, try to direct it towards God and don’t let it “get to your head.”