Week 1 || Day 3
PURPOSE OF PRAYER: WE PRAY TO GROW IN HUMILITY AND ALIGN OUR WILL WITH GOD’S WILL.
Prayer shouldn’t be us attempting to tell God how we want Him to do things. Instead, prayer should be focused on gaining a better understanding of God and His ways. We should be praying in order to discern His will for our lives, bringing ourselves into alignment with Him…not bringing Him into alignment with our desires.
One way to stay committed to prayers aligned with God’s will is through humility. Humility is a position of the heart that is often shown through genuine gratitude, displaying a lack of arrogance, and having a Godly view of yourself. When we recognize our own inadequacies and understand that God’s will is truly better than our own, it is easier to lay down our desires. A humble attitude is required, though. God Himself came to earth in a humble manner, in order to help the poor and afflicted, to forgive us of our sins and to offer us eternal life. Jesus, too, shows a perfect depiction of someone who lived with lifelong humility. He displayed humility from the moment of His birth to His tortuous crucifixion.
Illustration:
“Sam Rayburn served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the United States Congress for seventeen years. As the Speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn wielded incredible power and prestige. He was third in the line of succession to the presidency.
One day, he found out that the teenage daughter of a reporter friend had tragically died. Early the next morning, Sam Rayburn knocked on the door of his friend. When the door opened, Rayburn asked if there was anything he could do. His friend stammered and replied, ‘I don’t think there is anything you can do. We are making all the arrangements.’
‘Well, have you had your coffee this morning?' Rayburn asked.
‘No. We haven’t had time.' said the grieving man.
‘Well,’ the Speaker of the House replied, ‘I can at least make the coffee.’
As he watched this powerful man make him coffee, the father suddenly remembered something. 'Mr. Speaker, I thought you were supposed to be having breakfast at the White House this morning.'
‘Well I was, but I called the President and told him I had a friend who was in trouble, and I couldn’t come.'
Sam Rayburn turned down breakfast with the President of the United States to make coffee for a grieving friend. Great Humility can be exercised by people of great power.” - Dave Anderson, Becoming a Leader of Character.
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Kids SEEK, too!
*Note to Caretakers: Humility can be difficult to teach to kids! If you happen to have something near you that you know none of your kids can lift alone, but you can all lift together, use that as an illustration. Ask each child to lift the object (an ottoman or some other object that doesn’t have the ability to injure them). When they cannot do it on their own, assist them. Often, when we humble ourselves, we are able to do things that are much more difficult than what we can do on our own!
Kids’ Illustration:
“Perhaps we need to be more like the scientist George Washington Carver. He developed hundreds of useful products from the peanut! When he was young he asked God to tell him the mystery of the universe. But God answered: ‘That knowledge is reserved for me alone.’ So he said, ‘God, tell me the mystery of the peanut.’ Then God said, ‘Well, George, that’s more nearly your size.' And he told him. -Debbie Przybylski, (Przybylski, Debbie. The Fragrance of Humility in Prayer.
Kids’ Activities for Today’s Prayer Focus:
CROSSWORD (A LESSON IN HUMILITY)
COLORING PAGE (A LESSON IN HUMILITY)
Bible Illustrations About Humility
Many great resources have been collected here.
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Bible:
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.” (1 Peter 5:6 ESV)
“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8 ESV)
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV)
Luke 18:13-14:“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” - Jesus (Luke 18:14 ESV)
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…” (Mark 10:45 ESV)
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Quote for Today:
“When a person first puts faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, part of what happened was a moment of humility. For a person to understand their need for salvation, they must realize that they are lost, utterly hopeless, and without any ability whatsoever to save themselves.” -Jason Hovde, Praying Biblically Series.
“Prayer doesn’t change God. It changes me.” C.S. Lewis
“The Bible does not teach that God helps those who help themselves; instead, God helps those who are at the end of themselves.” -Albert Mohler, The Prayer that Turns the World Upside Down.
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Points to Ponder:
When we choose to follow God, we are humbly displaying our trust in God, His infinite wisdom, and His wonderful salvation.
When we pray, are we humbly asking God things, or are we demanding to know things?
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CLOSING PRAYER: Father God, In Micah 6:8 You say, “O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Today we choose to walk humbly with You. We choose to live by Your Holy Spirit and to follow Your lead. Help us to hear You clearly, as we do not want to walk by pride, we want to walk with You. We ask you to help us to continue to develop humility in our lives as we seek You and Your will. We look to the example that You and your son, Jesus, have set, and we ask that you would continue to mold us into your likeness by your grace. We also ask that you would help us to walk according to your will for our lives. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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