Eastside 21 Days of PrayerSample

DAY 2: A PRAYER OF HUMILITY

Humility is a modest view of one’s own importance. C.S. Lewis said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” 

Imagine again being a pilgrim pursuing God by ascending a steep hill to an impressive house of worship, singing these words from Psalm 131:1 with others along the way: ”My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty.” 

The temple at that time was built of stones weighing 400 tons. The plaza surrounding it was the size of six football fields and could accommodate as many as a million people. Yet this was a limited physical representation of a limitless God. Can you picture walking up a hill toward something that size? What does that do to the size of the problems you might be carrying with you today?

There is a relationship between our hearts and our eyes in today’s passage. What our hearts believe, our eyes see. What is in your heart today that might be clouding your vision of God? Name it. This is the beginning of humility.

PRAY

1. Is there something that is living in your heart right now that is clouding your ability to see God clearly? Is it something that is making you anxious? Concerned? Resentful? Afraid? Overwhelmed? Tell God exactly what it is and why you feel that way.
2. Note the words in verse 1 of today’s reading. The Hebrew words for “proud” and “haughty” are also the Hebrew words for “tall.” Do you ever live as if you're the one who is taller than God? Do you feel like your vantage point is higher than his and that you would like him to come up to your assessment of your circumstances? If so, visualize yourself walking down the pilgrims’ path and God ascending back to his throne in the temple as King. Now ask him what he wants to do in whatever concerns you today.
3. Temperatures change when you ascend to higher elevations. Do you sense the beginning of an attitude (“altitude”) change? If you do, thank him for that as you move into your day. If you do not, ask him now to show you something today that would break the power of this distraction over you as you experience this second day on our prayer journey.