Leaders in Faith: Humility Before an Infinite God

Posted March 4, 2009 at 11:16 am and filed under Faith. Updated March 15, 2009 at 7:57 pm.

By Gordon Duncan
Sovereign King Church

The promises of God are true. They are a reflection of his character, and they are authoritative. Meditation and prayer on them are transformational practices.

Despite that fact, knowing and embracing God’s promises often elude us. Prayer and meditation are often the desire, but the daily practice of both is rare these days. As a result, many believers in Christ live weak and faithless lives of desperation. Yet God promises more.

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

In this prophecy given to King Solomon at the completion of the temple, God promises to forgive his people’s sin and heal their land. What he commands is that his people walk in humility, pray, seek God’s face and repent (turn away from) their sins. This is the pattern by which we walk in and enjoy prayer to God that draws us closer to him and his purposes.

We are to walk in humility, recognizing our finiteness before an infinite God. This includes recognition of our slavish desire to trust ourselves and our own wisdom before God’s.

This humility has an action, and that action is prayer. If we avoid or lose the discipline of prayer, it is because we are walking in the wisdom (or lack thereof) of our own understanding. Humility says, “I need to commune with God.”

As our humility draws us to God in prayer, we seek his face, which is the Biblical equivalent of seeking God’s will. We seek what is pleasing to the Father. This seeking immediately shines a light on our sins and transgressions.

The face of the Father stands against sin, and our humility agrees with our guilt. But if we seek the Father, as he has promised, we will walk in newness of life and forgiveness.

Then our hearts and minds take on a bigger picture – a kingdom picture. We pray bold prayers of God’s work in our land, which include prayers for family, friends, neighbors, churches, cities and governments.

This is the call of not only the people of Solomon’s day, but the call of our day as well.

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