'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble'" (James 4:6).
Humility is an important secret to answered prayer. Prayer rising from a prideful heart is vanity. James writes to us, "But he gives us more grace."
No one wants to plead a case in heaven's court against God! Yet that is exactly the case of one who prays pridefully. God opposes him! Paul urged Timothy to recognize the peril of becoming prideful and arrogant:
But mark this: "There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God -- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." (2 Tim. 3:1–5)
Some people who are filled with pride and arrogance do pray. Their prayers no doubt sound like that of the proud Pharisee in Luke 18.
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