How many times do we read the Bible and come across a scriptural reference and we say something like, “Boy, do I know who ought to be reading this?”
It’s so easy to look at others with their shortcomings and problems and neglect looking at our own. Jesus told us not to try to get a speck out of someone else’s eye when the whole time we had a plank in our own eye.
He also told a story about two people that went before God to pray; one was self-righteous, telling God how good he was, while the other was an admitted sinner who pleaded for the mercy of God.
The Bible says that the second man who showed humility left with the favor of his heavenly Father while the other man left disappointed.
When we read the word of God, what should our attitude be? We need to have the same spirit that King David showed when he prayed, “Search me and see if there is any evil within me.”
We need to ask the Lord to look deep within our life, not the lives of others. We need to sing the old song that says, “It’s me, oh me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer, it’s me, oh me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer. Not my brother not my sister, but it’s me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer.”
We need to remember that if we want God to lead us and direct our lives, then we need to take the time to listen.