A.W. Tozer once said that “The proud man cannot worship God any more than the proud devil can worship God.” Pride is a relationship killer. When we love someone, we make everything about them. Pride makes everything about us. The only relationship that thrives in the midst of pride is the narcissistic one we have with ourselves. If we would follow Christ with all of our hearts then we must love as He did (John 15:12). We must be humble as He was. There is no room for pride in our relationship with God. We’ve got to let go of every feeling of self-sufficiency and rely fully on His character and promise of provision (Matthew 6:25-34).
humility
The Art of Self-Denial
There are a few extremes that people hold to on the topic of self-denial. I think A.W. Tozer said it best: “The meaning of self-denial is not an infliction of personal torment nor penance, but it is simply the giving up of the very principle of living for ourselves. It is completely changing the direction of our being and will, so that no longer in any sense do we act with reference to how anything will affect us, but our one thought is how it will affect God or others.” Self-denial then is not principally about doing less for ourselves, but rather doing more for God.
Stare at God
What if we stared at God every moment of our day? The Bible tells us we should fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2), but how often do we make a conscious effort to do that? More importantly, what does that look like in real life? I’ve recently been trying to work this out for myself. The key is to first get a proper mental image of God. Check out Revelation 4:8-11, where it describes angels who do nothing but praise God, all day. They are so consumed with His beauty that they can do nothing else. God is the perfection of all that is good. He is perfect and unconditional love, and is constantly in pursuit of you, reaching out to you. Look at Isaiah 6:3-5, where the prophet feels ruined just from looking at the beauty of God. Keep that picture of God at the forefront of your mind.
Your Greatest Achievement
What is the greatest achievement you can think of in life? If you could achieve your dreams, what would they be? How do you define success? Think of the biggest goal you can imagine. Dare to dream your biggest dream. Now think what it will feel like if we live our life in such a way that when we meet Jesus He says to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23). Wouldn’t your wildest dreams, all of your greatest achievements combined, pale in comparison to that one conversation?
Praying as Jesus Prayed
When Jesus taught His disciples what we know as “The Lord’s Prayer”, He gave us much more than a simple model prayer. Within these few short verses are the keys to God’s will for each of our lives. If you’ve ever wondered how you should pray, it’s in there. If you’ve ever wondered what God’s will is for your life, it’s in there as well.
Want to know how you should treat others? Jesus articulated it in His prayer. Are you curious about how to have a right relationship with your money? You guessed it, it’s right there in the Lord’s Prayer. It’s a brief passage, so let’s break it down piece by piece.