Pride vs. Humility: How do we Approach God

James 4:1-10

How are we supposed to approach God in prayer?

In this passage James is going to basically paint two pictures for the church

First we will see the problem that we have about coming to God in general and in prayer

Second, we will see God’s solution to the problem and how we are to come to God

V. 1-3

The problems and conflict that we face everyday with others, James is calling out the fact that they come from first the uncontrolled urges and selfishness from within ourselves

Jesus does a very similar thing in the Sermon on the Mount where he goes down this list of commands that ultimately fail because of how corrupt our hearts are.

He says all of the problems that the church is facing begin with this internal problem of envy that is waging war against the desire to follow God.

This self-centeredness causes them to not be content with what they have, to verbally attack, and be jealous of what belongs to others.

And specifically about prayer he says that we are either so focused on ourselves that we fail to come to God to find our fulfillment, or even worse than that when people do come to God he denies their request because they are just asking to fulfill their desires instead of being obedient to God.

We as God’s people can be so self-centered that it poisons our relationship with God and other people and completely messes up our prayer life.

V.4-5

James here says that the people of God that are more focused on themselves are friends of the world.

The world here refers to society.

Our society is so focused on being self-promoting, and it is through making the most of ourselves that we find value.

So here James is calling out the people who really know Jesus but are more worried about themselves and what the world thinks about them instead of finding their identity and value in Christ

And when we let our selfishness and pride determine how we’re living, we are actually working against God.

So James is saying you cannot be a friend of the world, finding your identity and worth from whatever it says is important, because it shows that we don’t have any real loyalty to God.

And this isn’t anything new, because verse 5 speaks about all people throughout history dealing with this same problem. We all naturally are sinful, because of our corrupt heart

So far James has painted a real nasty picture, one that shows how hypocritical we all naturally are, and even after we’re saved can still fall into being, but this is where the other side begins to shine

So now how do we approach God?

V.6-7a

When we humbly submit to God we are promised grace!

And what does humble submission to God look like?

V.7b-10

God promises that as we submit to Him the enemy who attempts to lead us astray will flee, and that as we draw near to Him, He is there drawing closer to us.

As we seek and submit to God He is there.

So James is saying to all of us who are still struggling with sin to cleanse and purify ourselves, and stop living the lie. He says that when we recognize our sin it should break us down but in that brokenness we can see God who says that as we humble ourselves, and come to Him He is there to grant grace.

Through the work of Christ we can have forgiveness of our sins so that we can know God, and because of Jesus believers can come to God in humility and He is there for us.