From Pastor David Pinckney's talk on "Battling the Arrogant Soul", three practical tips to help pastors squash pride and cultivate humility:
1. Take out the trash.
Literally, Pinckney says. Take out your trash. Don't give it to your assistant or custodian. Take it out yourself. It can be cathartic. And humbling. Don't be above doing this and prove you're not by actually doing it.
2. Visit nursing homes.
This will not increase your attendance, Pinckney says, but do it anyway. And don't make it a program or a project. Don't worry about telling anybody you're doing this. Just go visit. Many folks in nursing home don't get visits once a week, and some don't even get visits once a month.
3. Adopt prayer positions.
Pinckney is not trying to endorse mysticism, here; he's saying that we should literally get on our knees to pray. Or better — on our faces. When no one can see. He says we should be intimately familiar with the smell of the carpet in our office. (He said taking out the trash can enhance that experience.)
How does God's Word impact our prayers?
God invites His children to talk with Him, yet our prayers often become repetitive and stale. How do we have a real conversation with God? How do we come to know Him so that we may pray for His will as our own?
In the Bible, God speaks to us as His children and gives us words for prayer—to praise Him, confess our sins, and request His help in our lives.
We’re giving away a free eBook copy of Praying the Bible, where Donald S. Whitney offers practical insight to help Christians talk to God with the words of Scripture.