Closer

Strip away my pride Lord, so I can be closer to you.

Sometimes we get into the mentality of “Be careful; don’t be prideful”, and we remind ourselves of that. This is good, but sometimes we forget the point of not wanting to be prideful. We don’t aim for humility so we can be a “good person” or a “good” Christian. Pride distances us from God—pride as well as all sin—and that should really really grieve us, because we love God and desire to be closer to Him.

Cast me not away from Thy presence O Lord
Take not thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation
And renew a right spirit within me.

I thought of this--the stuff above that I wrote-- as I was just reading Nehemiah 1:4. This verse really captured my attention.
(Nehemiah has just heard that Jerusalem is in shambles physically and spiritually).
"When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven."

It captured my attention because I realized how greatly the news affected Nehemiah. And how his weeping, mourning, fasting was so sincere, and not just doing it as a formula for getting right with God, but that he really grieved for the sins of Jerusalem.