Humble Heart, Prideless Prayers

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

                                                                            Matthew 6:5-8

    Humility versus Pride is a big issue in the kingdom of Heaven. It was the thing that sparked the rebellion between God and Satan, causing Satan to try to usurp the throne, leading to his fall to hell. It was the pride of the judge Samson, known for his victories in battle by his strength, that led to his heart being betrayed by Delilah, and the Lord leaving him in his weakest moment. It was pride that convinced Saul to spare the best of the land from the defeat Amalekites, even though he was told by the prophet Samuel to leave nothing behind, causing the favor of God to leave him and seek out a humble servant in the character of David. It was pride and Jealousy that they made the King chase after David in multiple attempts to end his life. 

"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall"- Proverbs 16:18

    Here Jesus is telling his followers to not boast about anything they do for the kingdom, for we have no right to boast about anything God has done for us. The apostle Paul later goes on to solidify this teaching, in 2 Corinthians 10:13. "We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you." What is essentially being said here is that We did nothing on our own to find Salvation, rather God himself guided our hearts to draw close to him. Therefore, we can not boast of our own achievements, no should we make a big show of praying to the Creator of the Universe just because we have an audience. We should not even be allowed to speak to the Lord above, but because he loves us so much, we have direct access to his throne room, and his heart. So, don't be like the pagans and hypocrites who need to babble on useless words in order to be heard by their "gods". Pray in a hidden, quiet place, to the one who knows your need before you even have to ask. 

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Journey through the Sermon on the Mount