“They have not humbled themselves even to this day, nor have they feared nor walk in my law, and my statutes that I set before you and before your fathers.”
-Jeremiah 44:10
Jeremiah 44:10 is a really sad commentary on God’s people, even after judgment had been in a sense poured out, the destruction of Jerusalem. Still the people, it says they’ve not humbled themselves even to this day. When I read this verse, I see three pictures that I’m compelled to pray in my own life that I would encourage us to pray, in light of our tendency to sin.
One, we need to pray for humility before God. “They’ve not humbled themselves, even to this day”. There is a pervasive pride in us that just continues to insist that our way is better than God’s way. This is what we need to be saved from in the first place and we need to be saved from it every day. We need to pray for humility before God. Do you pray often for humility? We need to pray often, continually for humility.
We pray for humility before God, a fear of Him, and a hatred of sin that will lead to obedience of all His commands.
Then second, says “Nor have they feared.” We need to pray for a fear of God. A right fear of God, a reverence for God, an awe of God, an awe of his holiness, his grandeur, his greatness that causes us to see the severity of sin before God, to not treat sin lightly. So we need to pray for humility before God, the fear of God, and then obedience to God. “Nor have they walked in my law and in my statutes that I set before you and before your fathers.”
So see how these go together? Humility before God leads to fear of God, which leads to obedience to God, and when we are not humble for God, we will be casual flippant with God, not have fear of him. We will be casual and flippant with him and casual and flippant with sin, and as a result we will live in disobedience to God.
Prayer For Humility
So God, we pray the opposite of what is happening here in Jeremiah 44:10. May it not be said of us that we did not humble ourselves. Even to this day reading this, that we didn’t fear you, that we didn’t walk in your law and your statutes. God, we pray for humility before you. God, I pray in my own life, I pray for those who are listening right now. Lord, please make us humble, give us humility, grant us humility that does not come naturally to us.
Please God, we pray for humility before you, we pray for a right fear of you, an awe of you, a reverence for you, worship of you in our hearts, your supremacy, your holiness, your grandeur, your majesty in such a way that we hate sin, even the thought of sin against you. That we hate it and we want to run from it. God, we pray for a fear of you that leads to an obedience to you. Lord, help us to walk in your law and your statutes that you’ve set before us. Help us to obey you. God, we pray for humility before you, fear of you, and obedience to you in our lives.
Please, oh God, cultivate all three of these things in us today. We pray in Jesus name, amen.
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David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
