Lord, save us from self-reliance! Whenever we get into trouble, whenever we have problems our first instinct seems to be to try and figure a way out and then the last resort might be prayer. I think we, all to often, have that backwards. Isaiah makes this same accusation against the people of Israel when they faced their enemies the Assyrians.
“You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the city of David. You collected water from the lower pool. You counted the houses of Jerusalem so that you could tear them down to fortify the wall. You made a reservoir between the walls for the water of the ancient pool, but you did not look to the one who made it, or consider the one who created it long ago.” 22:9-11
I often think that we (particularly we Americans) think that we can solve any problem if we just throw enough money and enough technology at it. This is one thing that living in Africa for 22 years has taught me. Some things are just beyond my ability to control, my ability to fix and my ability to manipulate. This continent will bring you to the end of yourself, but it never brings you to the end of your faith. Instead, that stripping down and defeat of self-reliance only serves to strengthen your faith because you realize what a “God sized” problem really is. Instead of first trying to appeal to our own experience, wisdom or cleverness, what would life be like if our first response was always one of prayer; God what do you want me to do, God what needs to be done, God will you do this because I cannot? Think how radically different our lives would be if He was always our first and foremost answer. God save us from the sin of self-reliance and make us to be utterly reliant on You in all things.
