The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people –robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get." Luke 18:11-12 NIV
Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 2 Corinthians 3:4-5 NIV
I have a really precious friend who is a very friendly and talkative man. He has great difficulty in having the kinds of conversations he truly desires, however, because he is hard of hearing. He is so nearly deaf that he went to a school for the deaf when he was young. He wears powerful hearing aids to help him hear enough to manage, but he often mishears and then misspeaks. He will respond to what he thought someone said and the results are often not helpful and can even be hurtful.
Spiritually hard of hearing people often have no idea they aren’t hearing correctly. Their lack of humility makes them unable to correctly hear the voice of God. The Pharisees were religious leaders who were full of human resources and knowledge, but they were filled with pride and hubris. They were convinced the world needed what they had to offer, and that God needed them and their opinions and accomplishments as well. That’s why their prayers were filled with their resumes, listing all the reasons they were great, not like other people.
On the other hand, Paul’s humility opened up all the channels for God to speak to him. To his friends who were also growing to become more and more like God, he crawled into the same boat as they were, humble people who knew that all they were and are comes from God. Again, it was that humility that enabled God to speak so directly and clearly to and through them.
Humility agrees with Jesus. “You can do nothing without me.” We then listen to God and are able to hear what He has to say. We can live with confidence and lead with confidence because humility consistently deals with our tendency to be hard of hearing. When we listen and obey with careful humility, we can speak with confidence that we have heard from God.
We have no reason to be smug or prideful when we pray. One of the best prayers we can ever pray is a simple, “Help me!” The prayer is humble because when we pray, we are saying that God is merciful and mighty, that He is wise and sovereign, and knows far better than we do what is best for us.
• Humility touches the heart of God and unplugs the blockage that prevents us from hearing.