A Prayer to Avoid the Fall of Pride - Your Daily Prayer - May 3

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A Prayer to Avoid the Fall of Pride 
By: Emily Rose Massey 

Bible Reading:
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18, ESV). 

Listen or Read Below:

I am no stranger to the stage. By the age of 4, I had my first dance recital, tapping away in my red polka dot ruffled dress with a big matching sequin bow, à la Shirley Temple. In high school, I belted out “Suddenly Seymour” as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. By the time I was in college, I began working towards my BA in Theater and Dance Performance and had performed in dozens of plays and musicals. I even worked for the Walt Disney Company as a performer at various events in St. Louis, opening for the Jonas Brothers and Raven-Symoné. In my senior year, I set it in my heart to move to Los Angeles to become a “famous actress.” But, thankfully, God had other plans. 

A few months after college graduation, the Lord met me in my pig pen, where I had wasted many years of my life living for me, myself, and I. He brought this prideful soul to the end of herself and opened my eyes to my desperate need for Christ. I repented of my sin and rebellion and surrendered my life to Christ. That was fifteen years ago this summer, and I have not looked back. Although I’m still on stage to some degree, I now use my gifts to glorify God as I sing on stage with my worship team at church on Sunday mornings. My view of the stage has completely changed, of course, yet I know that I am not immune to prideful thoughts. I constantly ask the Lord to search my heart because I know how quickly any of us can step into pride or boasting in our own abilities. 

The book of Proverbs brings much wisdom to believers, and the topic of pride is often highlighted. We see in Proverbs 16 what happens to those who walk in pride:

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (18, ESV).

Pride brings destruction and a falling away from God’s perfect ways, causing chaos and confusion. If we are putting our trust in everything or anyone (including ourselves), but the Lord, we will constantly be disappointed and lead astray and into sin. We must trust in the Lord with all of our heart, which should never be filled with more of this world or fleshly desires than God’s Word.

Like I mentioned earlier, none of us are immune from being tempted by the sin of pride; It comes very naturally to us as humans. Humility is the solution to our human pride. Humility is truly a gift from the Father. As humans, just like the fruit of the Spirit, it is difficult to walk continually in this godly trait. We need God’s help, His grace. To be granted His heavenly grace gifts, we must become humble before the throne of God. When we think we can control our lives better than God, we will eventually fail. We must acknowledge our prideful, self-reliant ways if we want to experience the sustaining and empowering grace of God. Jesus did not consider equality with the Father a thing to be grasped and emptied Himself of all privileges; He humbled Himself even to the point of dying on the cross for our sins. We should long to reflect selflessness to the world, but for us to do that, we need to walk in humility and put our trust in God alone. Asking our brothers and sisters in the Lord to hold us accountable in this area is also helpful. We often have blind spots, like pride, that keep us from seeing where we may be straying away from God’s best for us. To avoid that destruction and fall, our brothers and sisters can warn us and help us stay on the right path- the path of humility and righteousness. 

Let’s Pray:

Heavenly Father,

I repent for my self-reliance and pride. I realize that I cannot walk through life without Your help and Your grace. I ask for Your beautiful gift of humility to penetrate my heart. I lay down my self-centeredness and selfishness, and by Your grace, clothe myself in humility that comes from You. 

Thank You for the gift of Your grace to be humble and prefer others above myself. May You be glorified in all that I say and do.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Share your reflections on today’s devotional in the Your Daily Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.

Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Fares Hamouche 

Emily Massey began writing short stories and poetry as a little girl, entered the blogging world in her early 20s, and published her first book in 2015. She enjoys being a homeschooling momma of four boys, while still being able to pursue her passion as a writer. Believing she has been forgiven much, she loves much, and desires to point others to Christ and His redemptive and transforming power, especially by sharing truth found in God’s written word. If you would like to connect with Emily, you can visit www.emilyrosemassey.com.

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