God hears those who lower themselves

In his conversations with angels, the evangelist Howard Storm, who allegedly encountered them during a famous near-death experience, says he asked about the nature of God and was told (no surprise here) that God knows everything and -- more importantly -- knows everything that can happen. From one moment to the next, the Lord knows everything that could occur. From one minute to the next, He is also aware of every possible variable of every event and each outcome. God does not control or dictate the outcome of every event, which would be a violation of His Creation, but every living being has its own will that must be expressed. Each conscious being has its own learning to be experienced. God created all things to be what they are and knows that the ultimate outcome is part of His design. Every action serves God’s purpose by fulfilling its nature, including the total range of activity, from negative to positive.

Our job is to be positive. Not dwelling on the negative means searching to understand and making sure that we view very situation from the other person’s perspective before responding, if another is involved. Is it tough? Very. To slough off agitation, even insult, takes humility.

But it is an absolutely vital component in the spiritual walk and often the results are immediate.

Grace flows to the humble, lubricating the miraculous.

God hears those who have lowered themselves.

“The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground,” says Psalms 147:6. “He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble,” adds Proverbs 3:34.

We must always be careful not to judge because when we criticize we are prevented from being children of God. To criticize is to grow in pride. Love, humility, and compassion, on the other hand, conquer evil.

When we humble ourselves, which means to dispel ego, we place God first, and this allows Him room to work. There is even a health benefit: the more humble we are, the more even-tempered we become, and better is the chance we have of softening our arteries (which respond to stress), bolstering our immunity, and lowering our blood pressure.

When I said that hardness of spirit could translate into hardness of heart, I recall the example of a friend’s sister. After her husband left her, she took the bitter route, her hatred for him soon growing into a hatred of others – even members of her family.

Her demeanor literally turned hard, expressing itself in a coronary attack that left her with only a quarter of her heart functioning (when she was still only it her thirties). Her heart had grown so hard that it fractured.

Negativity stiffens us and saps our energy while a positive, humble demeanor fortifies us and physically protects us. It takes just a little water to cause a fog. The same is true with negativity. True, there are people who are born with certain temperaments and find it hard to restrain their emotions. This may be their “cross.” But everyone is called to reign in anger, and humility allows us to go outside of ourselves and do just that -- at which point we can positively view a circumstance.

When you encounter a person you want to dislike, step back, erase your negative thoughts, and replace them with understanding. If you encounter a person who is slow, exercise patience. If someone insults you, pray for that person. You could be his salvation! And only with prayer do some negative thoughts stop bothering us. It’s like God is prompting us to pray for a person through the very aggravation the person has caused!

-- Michael H. Brown