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How To Humble Yourself In Prayer

Humility plays a crucial role when praying. All Christians face problems in our lives. Instead of relying on our strength, we come before God and approach His throne of grace to ask for His help and mercy. We always come before God to pray to Him regarding everything in our lives. If a student has an upcoming exam, he or she should pray to God to give them the grace to study well and ace the exam. If a lawyer is about to go to a trial he or she is handling, they can come before God to ask for the strength that they will need to fight for the client. In other words, Christians come before God and pray to Him out of their dependence on Him because everything comes from Him. That is why praying to God is an act of humility, because we acknowledge that we are limited and incapable. However, God is not. The same goes for prayers of thanksgiving. We don’t take the credit, but instead, we thank God because everything is credited to Him. Whatever we are thanking God for wouldn’t be possible if not for His mercy and grace. Everything should be an act of humility before God.

Philippians 4:6-7

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

How to Humble Yourself in Prayer

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Rejoice evermore.

17 Pray without ceasing.

18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

How to Humble Yourself in Prayer

Why is humility important?

To know why humility is essential, we must first revisit Genesis or the story of Creation. God created Adam and Eve to rule the earth in partnership with Him. With that, they are to trust God in everything and follow God’s definition of good and evil as they rule. However, Adam and Eve fell and ate the fruit, as they wanted to rule by themselves and define good and evil by their terms. That itself is a sign of pride, which is the opposite of humility. Pride is a sin. Being proud might be a good thing for others, but it is not in the eyes of God. Pride means living on one’s own terms and by listening to what is good and evil within their mortal sight. However, being humble means submitting to what God has defined as good and evil. That is why humility is associated with wisdom in the book of Proverbs. The wise are humble because the wise fear God. They don’t trust and lean on their own understanding. Instead, they trust God and submit to Him, knowing God has infinite wisdom. 

Genesis 3:6

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

How to Humble Yourself in Prayer

Proverbs 11:2

When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.

When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.

How to Humble Yourself in Prayer

Proverbs 15:33

The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.

The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.

How to Humble Yourself in Prayer

Proverbs 22:4

By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.

By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.

How to Humble Yourself in Prayer

Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

If we don’t humble ourselves, we will also suffer the consequences. For example, if a person hears the Gospel, which requires them to humble themselves and submit to Christ, they should humble themselves and do so. Being proud and refusing to acknowledge one’s need for a savior won’t do them any good. The same applies when living wisely and righteously. If a person follows his or her definition of good and evil, thinking that adultery is good, it will have serious consequences. If a man keeps committing adultery, his family will end up broken. However, if the man submitted to God’s definition of good and evil and kept himself pure, and free from doing such sin, it will be well with him.

How do you humble yourself and pray?

As mentioned, when it comes to prayer, we humble ourselves before God by depending on God for our concerns or cares. We come before God and rely on Him because we cannot do anything on our own. We pray to God regarding our loved ones because, in the end, it is God who will ultimately keep them safe, not us. We pray for provision because all provision comes from the LORD. Humbling ourselves means coming before God to rely on His grace and mercy. 

1 Peter 5:6

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

However, humbling ourselves before God in prayer means more than just relying on Him in prayer. It also means praying for God’s will to be done instead of ours, and then submitting to it, even if it is not something we want. For example, if a person applies for a specific job position and prays to God for it, but doesn’t get the job because it is not God’s will, they should submit themselves before God. One example that we have is Jesus Christ Himself. He prayed for the cup of God’s wrath, which consisted of Him dying on the cross, to be taken away from Him. Yet in the end, He humbled Himself and submitted to the will of the Father, saying that not His will, but the Father’s will would be done. In other words, humbling ourselves before God in prayer is not just about relying on Him, but also praying for His will to be done and submitting to His will. If we insist on what we think is good, we are not submitting to God’s definition of good and evil. Going back to the example of the applicant who didn’t get the job, there may be a better job out there, or perhaps being in that job will cause their spiritual growth to be stagnant. God is sovereign and infinitely wise. That is why we must humble ourselves before Him.

Luke 22:42

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Philippians 2:8

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Using the example of the job applicant, here is an example prayer that you can use:

Heavenly Father, You are infinite in Your wisdom. I pray for favor in the eyes of my interviewer and pray that You will give me the grace I need to be able to understand the interview questions well and answer them excellently. I pray that I will be able to get the job. However, I pray not for my will, but Yours to be done. Let Your will be done, and give me the grace to submit to Your will, even if it is something that goes against my desires. Help me never to trust my understanding, but always trust in Your infinite wisdom. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Whenever we pray, we should always maintain a humble heart before God. We acknowledge that apart from Him, we are nothing and that His wisdom is far more infinite than ours. Therefore, we are to submit to God even if His answer to our prayers is “No”. In the end, we know that everything God does is out of His love for us. That is why we can trust Him.

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