At times, I find it so difficult to ask for help in my day to day life. Can you relate? I may need help, but hesitate to ask for various reasons. Maybe I feel like I don't know someone well enough, or I feel like my request may be unreasonable. I'm not sure what they will say, so I don't ask. I don't want to make myself vulnerable to their reaction to my request. I feel like I would look silly if I admitted I couldn't do something on my own.
It's the same way with prayer! God has something that we need and yet...we don't ask for His help. Is it pride? We think we can manage without His help. Sure, things would be a whole lot better if we could have God move in our situation. The Bible tells us He is more than willing to help us...and yet, we refrain.
Some of this may not sound like pride- maybe more like fear. But, if you think about it, the fear that's keeping you from asking is the fear of appearing to be weak or inefficient or unable to do something on your own.
God does not desire for us to be bound by pride! He invites us to ASK!
‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ Jeremiah 33:3
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." Luke 11:9
God honors those who ask! Even those who keep on asking! Consider this story from Luke 18:1-5:
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”
The widow could have given up after one rejection- I know I probably would in many situations- but she kept on asking. Her "continual coming" made the way for her.
We need that kind of persistence in our prayer life! We need to be determined that we will let go of pride and humble ourselves to ask God for what we need, and to ask on behalf of others in need as well!
Has pride ever kept you from approaching God in prayer?
