Written by Ray Stedman (1917-1992), a pastor and author.
The great hindrance to having faith in God is pride, the pride that refuses to forgive. That is like a mountain that fills up your whole life. All you can see is that big mountain looming before you, and it is blocking the life of God in your life. You have the power to have that removed if, when you stand and pray, you will forgive those who have offended you. Because the only thing that stops us from forgiving one another is pride. We feel justified in wanting others to forgive us but also in feeling that we have to exact a price for the hurt they have caused us. So, in many ways—subtle, or direct and open—we insist that we will not forgive, that our offenders have to pay for what they have done to us. Somehow, we are going to make them crawl, make them beg or plead for forgiveness. And that, Jesus says, is a great mountain that needs to be removed, for it is blocking the flow of the life of God to your faith.
Prayer:
Written by Richard Foster, a contemporary author and leader in the spiritual formation movement.
O Lord, teach me the horridness, the awfulness of pride. Let this reality sink deep down into my consciousness. Cause my spirit to react instinctively to the very presence of pride and to flee from it. Purify my heart so utterly that no hint of pride is able to reside inside. This I pray in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.
Pathways Press.com 