Pride

King Uzziah became king at 16. He was helped by many to become strong & successful. He was given great knowledge to secure & establish the kingdom. He loved the Lord & was very faithful. His intelligence got the best of him & pride sat in. It was the stumbling block that blinded his judgement. “Moreover, Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows and sling stones. In Jerusalem he made engines of war invented by skillful men to be on the towers and on the corners for the purpose of shooting arrows and great stones. Hence his fame spread afar, for he was marvelously helped until he was strong. But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. Then Azariah the priest entered after him and with him eighty priests of the LORD, valiant men. They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the LORD God." But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the altar of incense. Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead; and they hurried him out of there, and he himself also hastened to get out because the LORD had smitten him.”
2 Chronicles 26:14-20 NASB

Many times pride will cause us to rationalize what the Lord has done in our life. It will cause us to doubt and be ashamed to give God the rightful credit or not be satisfied with our current relationship or place of service (our assignment). It's the hardest fault to detect because it begins without notice & is not one of the "big ones." Prayer reveals these when we honestly ask the Lord. He has won the victory over pride & every other act we can commit.

The Battle

We should give the Lord the big things & the small. He is always at work around us. When King Jehoshaphat was invaded by a huge army he turned to the Lord. The Lord answered; “and he said, "Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, 'Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the LORD is with you." Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.”
2 Chronicles 20:15-18 NASB
When we give Him the big and small things, the pressures of life become a walk in the park. My Dad would say; "Is this anything the Lord can't handle?" Begin with that question & you will discover the Lord wants to take it from you & handle it. The Lord had the enemy turn on each other & King Jehoshaphat did not have to lift s sword.

Effective Prayer

The Lord promises to hear our prayers when we come humbly to Him with our concerns, petitions, praise & adoration. He loves to guide our hearts, thoughts & activities. After King Solomon's prayer of dedication God accepted his offering, sent fire from heaven to consume it & filled the house with His presence. He gave us the keys to an effective relationship; “Then the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.” II Chronicles 7:12-15 NKJV

Life changing prayer life

The Spirit of the Lord generates prayers when we allow Him to be Lord of our thoughts & the desires of our heart. Here's how it worked with King Solomon; “Solomon said to God, "You have dealt with my father David with great lovingkindness, and have made me king in his place. Now, O LORD God, Your promise to my father David is fulfilled, for You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can rule this great people of Yours?" God said to Solomon, "Because you had this in mind, and did not ask for riches, wealth or honor, or the life of those who hate you, nor have you even asked for long life, but you have asked for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may rule My people over whom I have made you king, wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings who were before you has possessed nor those who will come after you." 2 Chronicles 1:8-12 NASB
King Solomon then went back believing God, (trusting what He had told Him) & began his reign based on what God was going to do. I encourage you to pray the same prayer in your life asking for wisdom, listen for the Lords response & get up putting into place all things the Lord has showed you. This says more about what you believe about God than anything else you day or do.

Faithfulness & Dependability

Faithfulness and genuine concern for others is part of the work the Lord does in our heart. I thank the Lord for faithful folks He has placed in my life.
“But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father.” Philippians 2:19-22 NASB

We are told we are getting a new name (Revelation 2:17 & 3:12) I believe the new name will be based on our love relationship with the Lord & and how we lived that out. It will be given as a reward by the Lord- the first one will be given on a stone know by only us & the Lord. The second will be written on us for everyone to know. Serve as a faithful friend & fellow soldier & you will be rewarded in ways I can't even describe.

God has a plan for you

The rewards for living a life of obedience includes the Lord establishing & using you as He intends; “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.”
Philippians 2:9-18 NASB
Rejoice & share it!