"Pride goeth before destruction,
and an haughty spirit before a fall."
- Proverbs 16:18

I guess it happens to us all.

My pastor was telling me about how his little boy, Noah, was learning to ride his bicycle without training wheels.  As Noah became a little more confident in his riding, he began to stand up and do some different things on his bike.  And, of course, he wanted to speak up and brag about how well he was doing.

And, of course, as soon as he opened his mouth to talk about how well he was doing...

...down he went! 

I guess that's a *literal* interpretation of Proverbs 16:18.

And, like I said, I guess it happens to us all.  It certainly reminds me of when I was a little boy first learning to ride without training wheels.  My scenario played out a bit differently, but the results were the same.

If you use your imagination, you can just see me now, whisking down the street, breezing by my dad (who taught me to ride) and then pulling my hands off of the handle bars into the air as I called out, "Look dad, no hands!"  I didn't need the security of holding on to those handle bars.  I could do it my own way, without their help.

And, of course, as soon as I opened my mouth to show off...

...down I went!

Another *literal* interpretation of Proverbs 16:18!

As I thought about that, about pride, it reminded me again that it really does happen to us all.  We all get prideful at times.  But, there is a time in our lives that we are most prideful, a time that many Christians struggle with pride and they don't even realize it...

...and that is when we don't take the time to pray.

What?  How is that prideful?  It's prideful because when we don't pray, it is basically saying to God that we don't need to communicate with Him.  It's saying to God that we don't need the security of holding on to Him in prayer and that we can do it our own way, without His help.

It's like gazing up towards the sky and saying, "Look dad, no hands!"

And I guarantee you, a fall is forthcoming.

Christian, when you don't take the time to pray each and every day, whether you realize it or not, you are telling God that prayer isn't important, that you don't need to be in conversation with Him each day.  And that is prideful.  To think that we - limited, finite, helpless, needy - would tell God - all powerful, all knowing, all present - that we've got better and more important things to do than talk with Him is more than prideful...

...it's downright foolish!

What about it this morning, Christian?  Are you so busy and distracted and indifferent that you are heading out with your hands lifted high off of your spiritual handle bars, neglecting to pray to the Father?

Or, are your hands clasped together in prayer to the One who can keep your bicycle heading down the narrow road?

Have a "Wonderful DAY in Christ,"
Jimmy D. Brown
\o/ Praise Jesus!