Humble Spirituality
Today, we set aside the impulse to evaluate, analyze, or intellectualize this week’s section of Sermon on the Mount. Instead, we turn to prayer, asking God to transform us from the inside out through His Word.
Rather than imposing our thoughts, feelings, and assumptions onto the text, we come before Him in humility, inviting Him to speak what our hearts need most to hear. We ask Him to teach us, shape us, and accomplish within us the work of transformation that only He can bring.
Begin your devotional experience by praying:
Father God, in Your grace, make my heart receptive to Your Word. Help me to meditate on Your message without becoming defensive, dismissive, or self-deceptive. Humble me before You and prepare me to receive whatever You may have for me. Speak to me through Your Word today, and transform me in a way that honors You and the children You so love.
READ
Matthew 6:1-4
“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”
PRAY
Abba, I confess I am often motivated to do good deeds to inflate my ego or bolster my reputation. In Your mercy, forgive me for the ways in which I strive to serve myself under the guise of service to others. Correct me and empower me to do my good deeds in secret, with pure motives. Challenge me and reveal to me ways I can serve without garnering praise or esteem for myself.
God, You are content to love and serve me readily, even when Your care for me goes unrecognized or unappreciated. Help me to have Your heart, Lord. Let me be satisfied in doing good, even when there are no immediate or obvious rewards for doing so. Show me how to be content following Your Law of Love, knowing that You see my efforts. Let pleasing You be enough for me. Let me love and serve Your children so that I might worship You, not so that I might gratify myself. Amen.
READ
Matthew 6:5-8
“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”
PRAY
Father, in Your grace, refine my prayer life and make it pleasing to You. Show me how to pray, not to be heard by others, but to simply speak with You. Remind me of the true goal of prayer: to foster a deeper, more trusting relationship with You. Free me from all lesser motivations, God. In Your love and grace, correct me when the heart behind my prayers does not honor You. Help me to practice regular, private prayer, letting it be more than a public ritual used to open or close meals and gatherings. Use prayer to make my heart like Yours, God.
Help me to keep my prayers simple, knowing that You already know my deepest thoughts, feelings, and desires. Remind me that You don’t expect lengthy or theologically complex prayers from me. All You want is my heart. All You want is intimacy with me, Your child. God, change the way that I pray so that it might increase my love for You and my trust in Your will. Amen.
READ
Matthew 6:16-18
“And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”
PRAY
Father, it is all too easy for me to make my faith about me and my “goodness.” So often, I leverage my relationship with You to make myself look “holy” or “righteous” before others. Remind me that I am not holy apart from You. My righteousness comes from You alone! Remind me that this faith is not about “looking the part” or performing my spirituality so that I can be seen by others. This faith is about serving and loving You by humbly serving and loving those You created.
God, in Your mercy, free me from my obsession with my own reputation. Help me to express my faith in ways that bring praise to You, rather than esteem for myself. Remind me that I am not the focus of this faith. Recenter Yourself and Your people in the way that I practice Christianity. Abba, guide me in Your wisdom and teach me how to practice my faith in public. Let my expressions of faith guide others to see You and feel Your love. Amen.
Port City writer Kate Redenbaugh wrote today’s devotional.