Pride goes before a fall. Proverbs 6:18
When did prayer become so dangerous?
As I lay staring up from the cement pad into the night sky, I could barely remember the few seconds before. The last thing that went through my mind was walking up the hill from the back yard at our lead pastor’s house. As we wrapped up our student ministry 4th of July celebration, my rather large frame began a harrowing, face first downward descent toward the pavement below.
Somehow, it appears I managed to twist my body at the last second and landed on my back. Between shouts of helpful inquiry and the accompanying laughter from my supportive students, my first concern was not how serious my injury could have been but how incredibly stupid I must have looked going down like a clumsy behemoth.
I was embarrassed and angry. On the surface I tried to laugh it off. But the thought of having the teenagers and staff see their fearless leader fling his Blackberry and car keys in opposite directions as he tripped over his own feet was humiliating.
Humiliating and humbling sound an awful lot alike.
How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Psalms 19:12
The perilous prayers mentioned earlier have been taking place over the last year. One thing I have been asking God is to reveal anything in my life that is hindering me from knowing Him more intimately. If there is any sin or offense that could be an impediment in our relationship I want to know about it.
Granted, pride and self-importance are areas that have been near the top of that list. (If you gave a hearty ‘amen’ to that statement, I don’t want to know about it.) Perhaps I would have appreciated an angelic visitor verbally sharing this truth instead of tripping me in the carport.
It probably would not have sunk in nearly as deep.
The Message paraphrase of James 1:2-4 says “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
When we ask God to reveal areas of struggle and sinfulness, we may be given the opportunity to face them. I know that no matter how many times I read a verse or heard a message on pride or arrogance that the lesson would not have had the impact my massive frame laying on the cold hard ground did.
Maybe our students needed to see a real leader that could get up, dust himself off, and keep going after such a mortifying experience. Or perhaps God just answered my prayer in a way He knew would get my attention.
Ryan Revolution