1455 Humility.... Grace....
June 5, 1940: Book 24
Humility is rooted in the realization of one's own inadequacy, and this in turn gives birth to prayer, for humility is the feeling of unworthiness and weakness and this has to be remedied through grace and help. As long as a person feels small, he will be able to ask and give heartfelt thanks for the grace received, but he who is arrogant will truly not raise his hands to the father, for he feels strong enough to overcome resistance. He no longer bows to a power that is above him, but is aware of his worth and stands exalted above the one who asks for help. If he lacks something, he demands it and takes everything offered to him for granted. And such a person cannot enjoy God's grace either, he will certainly receive the strength from God which he needs for his earthly life, yet his soul is in greatest danger, for it has too little strength at its disposal since it lacks the will to request this strength from God and to humbly accept it. Consequently, earthly life is then lived in vain, for it does not bring the soul release from its shackle, even though the human being has only claimed the strength from God for his body. It is a state which does not correspond to God's will if the human being is arrogant towards Him, for this is why the being has travelled the long path on earth in spellbound form in order to regocnize its powerlessness and to let it regocnize the distance from God, which is now to be reduced through genuine filial love. An arrogant spirit, however, increases the distance from God in an unimaginable way. Arrogance was the cause of the apostasy from God, and now only the deepest humility can bring the being closer to the eternal deity again. For God loves His creatures and makes His grace available to them without measure. It is this grace, power from God, which flows to the spiritual in man. If certain demands are now made on man, then this only happens so that man freely decides in favour of union with God or in favour of continued separation from Him. He must strive for one or the other out of innermost drive; if the feeling of arrogance prevails in him, he must learn to regocnize his unworthiness through earthly life, so that he turns to his creator in prayer and now receives the strength which shapes him in such a way that the distance from God becomes less and less. And this has then been brought about by inner humility, for a humble person surrenders his own will and completely submits himself to the divine will. The lord gives His grace to the humble.... Through humility he establishes the right relationship with God, humility allows him to ask for strength, which can only come to man if it is consciously requested. Inner humility is the confession of the former guilt that caused the apostasy from God. Humility is the surest guarantee that the father will lovingly incline Himself towards His child and draw it up to His fatherly heart.... that the spirit from God will reunite with the father-spirit....
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