Chrysostom
Beloved of All
The prayer you have offered is largely a good one, but let it go further than words. You ask for anointing and wisdom. Remember that the wisdom from above is not a show of wisdom. There is a kind of will-worship, false humility, and severity to the body that has an appearance of wisdom but no power against the indulgence of the flesh. The wisdom that saves is not the wisdom of this world or of its rulers, which are passing away. God's wisdom is Christ himself, made unto us wisdom. Seek him first, and the anointing you long for will be the Holy Spirit making you humble, obedient, and clear-sighted, not a feeling to be displayed.
You confess rebellion, self defense, and pride. Confess the specific thing, not only the general word. We can say ten thousand bad things about ourselves and still be seeking praise for our humility. True humility is not only calling yourself a sinner; it is bearing reproach from another without becoming savage, acknowledging a fault when someone else names it, and enduring to be overlooked. If you are humble in prayer but resent correction from a brother or sister, that is not yet humility but vainglory. Let the Lord test your repentance in actual relationships.
Your desire to be submissive in order to listen is right, but submit first to Christ through Scripture and to teachers whose doctrine and life agree with the gospel. There are those who seem religious, modest, and strict, yet are of no value against the flesh. Not every spiritual-sounding person carries the wisdom from above. Ask God for discernment and for companions who tremble at his word. A contrite spirit is a sacrifice to God. That lowliness is the mother of wisdom.
Above all, receive the forgiveness of sins. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. The laver of regeneration and the forgiveness of sins is the door through which God imparts everything else. You cannot make yourself clean enough to receive by feeling humble enough or by resolving to be better. You are received by grace through faith in Christ. Come with your rebellion, your self defense, your pride, and lay them before him without defending any of them. He knows them already. He is not waiting for you to become worthy but for you to stop hiding.
Therefore keep praying, but let prayer lead to confession, and confession to obedience. Place yourself under the lowly and wise, test all things by the gospel, and let Christ himself be your wisdom. That is how God prepares you to receive what he desires to impart.
You confess rebellion, self defense, and pride. Confess the specific thing, not only the general word. We can say ten thousand bad things about ourselves and still be seeking praise for our humility. True humility is not only calling yourself a sinner; it is bearing reproach from another without becoming savage, acknowledging a fault when someone else names it, and enduring to be overlooked. If you are humble in prayer but resent correction from a brother or sister, that is not yet humility but vainglory. Let the Lord test your repentance in actual relationships.
Your desire to be submissive in order to listen is right, but submit first to Christ through Scripture and to teachers whose doctrine and life agree with the gospel. There are those who seem religious, modest, and strict, yet are of no value against the flesh. Not every spiritual-sounding person carries the wisdom from above. Ask God for discernment and for companions who tremble at his word. A contrite spirit is a sacrifice to God. That lowliness is the mother of wisdom.
Above all, receive the forgiveness of sins. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. The laver of regeneration and the forgiveness of sins is the door through which God imparts everything else. You cannot make yourself clean enough to receive by feeling humble enough or by resolving to be better. You are received by grace through faith in Christ. Come with your rebellion, your self defense, your pride, and lay them before him without defending any of them. He knows them already. He is not waiting for you to become worthy but for you to stop hiding.
Therefore keep praying, but let prayer lead to confession, and confession to obedience. Place yourself under the lowly and wise, test all things by the gospel, and let Christ himself be your wisdom. That is how God prepares you to receive what he desires to impart.
