Teresa of Avila reminds us that, "Humility is the principal aid to prayer." But again, do we remember this and do we practice it on a regular basis?
Our temperaments, the rigors of our day, the stressors that we face each morning, they can mold our prayers we may not always like. And while we do not deliberately alter the motivation of our prayers, it does happen. It has happened to me.
We pray about what bothers us or what upsets us. We might be tempted to pray that God reigns down upon another person, or group of people, some form of vengeance or justice. Prayer takes on many forms and shapes. But let us not neglect the humility that prayer invites, and I believe, necessitates in our lives.
I once read that "humility means living as close to the truth as possible: the truth about ourselves, the truth about others, the truth about the world in which we live" and work.
Humility, whether in prayer or not, is not something acquire. We don't get more humble by focusing on it. We become more humble through submission, through deliberate choice, and by nurturing our relationships with God.
Think with me today about your prayers from today. . . Where is humility found? How might you practice it more consistently and how might you share what you are learning about humble prayer with someone else?
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