Spiritual Pride...

I think the biggest battle to fight in this life is that of spiritual pride. I've struggled with it quite a bit. Now it bothers me to sit in a prayer meeting and hear the same ol'- same ol'. You know, the kind of get-together where we take prayer requests for the infirmed & non-SDA family members, etc. It's like a dry routine- I've heard all this most of my life. Prayer is a powerful tool! Taking prayer requests is important- we need to pray, but why is it we only seem to feel comfortable asking for prayer for other people? Usually, the only prayer request people will ask for themselves is for illness or financial troubles. It rarely ever seems to reach a gut-level honesty on a spiritual plane. I want the kind of prayer-meeting where I can show up and say "Hey guys pray with/for ME- I'm dealing with ------" I struggle with real sin, I need a place where it's safe to be real- a place where I am fed spiritually. My soul is hungry and thirsty- I want more Jesus. He's the 'bread of life" and the "living water. Believe me, if it were possible to change ourselves, I would be at the head of the pack- I'm a hard worker. But trying to change myself is about as easy as trying to mow the lawn with toe-nail clippers. Jesus is my ONLY hope- how greatly I need Him! Sitting around tisk-tisking about other people's problems and gloating about how our denomination has it all together is the status quo in a lot of churches, but could there be more? Could a greater blessing be obtained?? It's like the two worshippers. The publican proudly says "Thank God I'm not as all those other sinful men" while the man who knew he was a sinner humbly and honestly prays, feeling his unworthiness. Guess which one went away blessed? I wonder if when Jesus said, "It's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven"... was He speaking only of material wealth or perhaps of those who feel they have a wealth of spiritual knowledge/heritage and are in need of no new insights?? Jesus said prostitutes and tax-collectors were going into the kingdom ahead of the pharisees. Why? Because they saw their need for a Savior while pharisees dismissed Him in favor of their rituals and "high theology". Jesus said He came to help the sick. A doctor can do no good unless a person admits they're sick and receives help. As for me, well I had a bad heart that needed a transplant & Jesus was a willing donor. The do's and don'ts have no power to save- only Christ and His work in us- through the power of the Holy Spirit can redeem. I want to hear less of the world news- more of the Good News. Less rhetoric, more reality. Less about the church, more about Christ.