We’re all born helpless. At first, we have no skills, no knowledge, and no power. Our only hope is that someone will answer our cry.
Though some of us become rich and powerful with time, spiritually we remain helpless. We can’t buy our way into heaven. We can’t work our way in either. All we can do is cry out for mercy.
Jesus shows us what that looks like in Luke 18:9-14. In these verses He tells a story of two men who went to the temple to pray. One man, the Pharisee, thought he was spiritually rich. He spent his time with God boasting about all the good things he had done.
The second man was a tax collector. Humanly speaking, he was most likely rich and powerful. But this man knew he was poor in spirit. (Matthew 5:3)
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:13-14)
We’re blessed when we realize that we are poor in spirit and cry out to our Heavenly Father, because He hears us. (1 John 5:14) He justifies us. He gives us a place in His Kingdom where we have access to the riches of His wisdom, and strength, and timing, and protection. And we never have to feel helpless again.