This article originally appeared on Curt Landry Ministries.
*Note this is the first in a two-part series.
The Word says that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. The power of humility quickens you in the spirit so that you can discern wisely and walk with authority.
Humility grounds you in and centers you on God. It helps you remember that…
· It’s not your wisdom
· It’s not your knowledge
· It’s not your intelligence
These are all given to you as a gift from God. Honor is the currency of heaven. Honor comes with humility, and you can’t have what you don’t honor. Therefore walk humbly, repent of any pride and begin to see prayers answered.
Today we’re going to talk about praying in the heavenly courts and the power of humility in spiritual warfare. It’s important to have a value system of humility when you go into the heavenly courts to pray because the Lord resists the proud, and He gives grace to the humble.
I’m going to pray with you through some things and I want you to be acutely aware of the inner knower, the Holy Spirit, quickening to you about the places you might have pride and need discernment.
I just want you to be aware. Listen, we all have areas of pride, where we lack humility, where we think we’re over something, and then we’ll have an event happen, and it will awaken. I’m going to give you an example.
Needing the Power of Humility in Spiritual Warfare
Christie and I had only done a little traveling during the whole two years with COVID. We’re going out to the Los Angeles area to connect with some Curt Landry Ministries (CLM) partners and donors.
So on this particular trip, we went to Los Angeles first, where I grew up. So we flew into LAX, and I grew up in the neighborhood right near the airport. It was a very familiar area to me. And, like anytime you are at an airport, there are always a number of people you have to interact with: rental car people, people driving the bus and all the staff at the airport.
As we started talking with people, we realized how emotionally wounded and stressed they were. Christie and I are Oklahomans; we just talk to people. So we’re talking, and people are very open. And what was so shocking to me was how emotionally wounded and stressed out the general public was everywhere we went on this trip.
This opened up my mind. It humbled me that, first of all, the Lord has kept us where we live in Oklahoma. Secondly, it humbled me to think what we’re carrying is what they need.
Yeshua is the answer, but we also carry something they need, an understanding of spiritual warfare. We can’t think, “Well, they’ll get it from somebody else,” which is a prideful thing to say. It’s like, no, the Lord says, “I’m putting a demand on you and what you carry. I want you to give it to these people.”
So a lot of times, pride is not as obvious as “Oh, I’m prideful because I’m successful, or I got this grade on this test, or I was accepted into this club or a sorority,” or whatever. It’s not. Sometimes it’s prideful thinking, “You know what? What I have somehow it’s mine, my intelligence, my wisdom, my knowledge.”
To battle pride in spiritual warfare, you must understand…
- It’s not your wisdom.
- It’s not your knowledge.
- It’s not your intelligence.
These are gifts from God. And when it’s a gift from God, this is where humility comes in. If the Lord tells you to give it to the guy at Avis rent-a-car and minister to him and spend time, even though your calendar is full, you do it.
In your mind, you are thinking, “I’m just wanting to get to the hotel, unpack and take a nap before the meeting.” Know that God is at work, and humility is to say, “Yes, Lord, Your will be done, not mine.”
So sometimes, we have to pray and say, “Lord, show me where the pride is.” {eoa}
Curt Landry, founder of Curt Landry Ministries, and his wife, Christie, travel extensively, preaching and teaching about the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. Together, their passion is to empower families to live and leave Kingdom legacies and understand their own personal heritage.
