Contrived Humility Vs.

Humility from Faith

Have you ever found yourself in prayer pleading a case before God when you
suddenly get a sick feeling that either God is not listening or he’s not willing to hear
you? What do you do when that happens? Hopefully you haven’t followed my
example.

I have recently become painfully aware of a tendency of mine, when feeling

inadequate to approach God, to try to bend his will through tears and contrite
statements. Knowing that God will not despise a humble and contrite heart I’ve been
seeking to make myself that way so that he would accept me and hear my pleas.

But there is a humbleness that does not flow from the gospel, and I frequently fall
completely into its trap. It's the same humility that we see in men who flog and cut
themselves and do other religious practices thinking that by these works God will
finally hear their prayers. But true humility does not come through self-made
regulations (Colossians 2:23).
The humility that pleases God (Psalm 51:17) isn’t an outward show, but a response of
faith to Jesus’ work for us and nothing else. The place where we ought to go when we
sense our unworthiness in prayer is straight to the cross where we put full trust in the
righteousness of Jesus on our behalf, where he canceled the record of debt that
stood against us with its legal demands, nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:14) .
We can be comforted when we pray, knowing that it is not our righteousness which
gains us entrance into his presence (Hebrews 4:16), but that of Jesus, whose blood
washes away the sins of all those who by faith trust in him alone.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and
we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1,2)