Stubbornness often grows out of pride. Pride says, “I know best.” Stubbornness refuses to bend even when God is clearly leading. Scripture consistently warns us that pride blinds us, isolates us, and blocks the flow of grace.
1. Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.” (NASB)
Pride leads a person into the dark without realizing the danger ahead. A proud heart loses sight of God’s wisdom and walks blind into destruction. Pride never warns you, it deceives you. It promises elevation but delivers a painful fall.
- Pride convinces you that you don’t need God’s help.
- Pride makes sin look safe and obedience look foolish.
- Pride is a liar that celebrates too early.
Live low before God. Confess dependence daily and refuse any version of self-reliance that replaces God.
Prayer – Father, protect me from the trap I cannot see. I confess I am prone to thinking too highly of myself and forgetting who You are. Strip away my pride where it hides in respectable places. Lead me to humility that comes from seeing You rightly.
Jesus, keep my heart soft, my ears open, and my feet planted on Your Word. May I choose submission and delight in Your leadership. Give me the strength to resist the poison of pride and the joy of walking humbly with You.
2. James 4:6 – “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” (NASB)
God lines up against pride. The proud will always find God as their opponent, not because He hates them, but because pride blocks grace. Humility places us under the waterfall of God’s generosity.
- Pride is the only attitude that makes God resist us.
- Grace flows to the lowest places.
- God is not trying to push us down. He is trying to make room for grace.
Walk into every day with your hands open. Ask God for help early and often.
Prayer – Lord, I need grace that I cannot manufacture. Remove in me the belief that I can do life without You. Help me yield every thought and decision to Your direction.
Thank You for pouring grace on those who bow. Shape me into someone who loves humility because it keeps me close to You.
3. 1 Peter 5:6 – “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.” (NASB)
God knows when to lift us up. Pride wants the spotlight now and resists God’s timing. Humility trusts God’s calendar and submits to His hand even when it feels low or unseen.
- God’s exaltation always arrives without regret.
- Pride rushes. Humility waits.
- The mighty hand that lowers is the same hand that lifts.
Submit to God’s timing. Refuse shortcuts that bypass His will.
Prayer – Mighty God, teach me patience when my heart feels ready for more. Strengthen me to stay beneath Your hand until You say rise.
Lift my eyes to Your purposes and not my platform. May Your timing shape my testimony.
4. Proverbs 11:2 – “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom.”
Pride exposes us. It makes us act foolishly because we believe we cannot be wrong. Humility listens, learns, and gains wisdom. The humble stand on solid ground.
- Pride ruins reputations faster than immorality.
- Humility is the doorway to learning.
- When you stop listening, you start falling.
Ask others for correction. Welcome wisdom more than applause.
Prayer – Lord, give me ears that love wisdom. Free me from the self-confidence that blinds.
Let the humility of Christ lead me into strength. Make me teachable and grounded in truth.
5. Proverbs 29:23 – “A man’s pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.”
The very thing pride seeks (honor) is the very thing it cannot receive. Honor is a gift God gives to those who choose humility. Pride self-promotes and ends up humiliated.
- Pride digs its own pit.
- Honor is received, not taken.
- God champions the humble.
Serve where no one sees you, and allow God to define success.
Prayer – Father, let me stop chasing recognition. Give me joy in serving unseen.
Grant me a humble spirit that You can trust with honor when the time is right.
6. Romans 12:3 – “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment…”
Pride distorts reality. Humility tells the truth about yourself. God wants us to think accurately, not low or high, but honest about our weakness and His grace.
- Pride is delusional.
- Humility is truth.
- The gospel levels us all.
Measure yourself by God’s Word, not your ego or comparisons.
Prayer – Lord, kill the illusions that pride builds in me. Show me who You are and who I am in You.
Help me live grounded in grace and not in image. Fix my identity to Christ alone.
7. Jeremiah 9:23–24 – “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom… but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me…”
Pride glories in human achievement. Humility celebrates knowing God. Wisdom, strength, and riches are unstable trophies. Knowing God is eternal life.
- Pride worships self. Humility worships God.
- Pride boasts in what fades.
- The only safe boast is Jesus.
Redirect every praise toward God. Speak more of Him than yourself.
Prayer – Lord, let my joy be rooted in knowing You. Remove the hunger for applause.
Teach me to treasure Christ more than any earthly win. May my heart boast only in You.
8. Isaiah 66:2 – “‘To this one I will look… But to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.’”
God notices humility. He draws near to those who take His Word seriously. Pride edits Scripture to preference. Humility trembles and submits.
- Pride stops fearing God.
- Humility listens and obeys.
- God’s gaze rests on the lowly.
Handle God’s Word with awe. Open it daily. Obey it quickly.
Prayer – Lord, soften my heart to Your voice. Fix my attention on Your truth.
I want to tremble in reverence, not shrug in pride. Stay near me as I walk in obedience.
9. Luke 14:11 – “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
God reverses prideful ambition. The proud take the high seat and are later asked to move. The humble choose the low seat and are honored by God.
- God is the one who chooses positions.
- Pride writes checks God refuses to cash.
- Humility opens the door to Christlike greatness.
Seek the lowest place in attitude and action.
Prayer – Jesus, You showed us the humble path. Help me walk behind You without needing a title or seat of importance.
Shape my heart so I delight in hidden service and let You handle the promotions.
10. Micah 6:8 – “He has told you, O man, what is good… to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God.”
Humility walks with God. Pride walks ahead. Pride forgets who leads the journey. Humility stays close, trusts His pace, and obeys His commands.
- Pride isolates. Humility stays in step.
- Pride shouts. Humility loves kindness.
- Justice begins by bowing to God.
Walk with God before working for God. Stay aware that you are not the leader.
Prayer – Lord, keep me near You. Pull me back when I start walking ahead. May my life reflect Your heart for mercy and justice.
Teach me the beauty of humility that keeps me in step with Your Spirit every moment.
A Closing Encouragement
Stubbornness is connected to pride. Yes. Pride closes the ear, stiffens the neck, and resists God. Humility keeps us pliable in His hands. If you want to win the battle over stubbornness, the strategy is simple: keep your heart low before God and open to His leading.
Freedom From Pride
1. The Fall of Pride
Pride stands tall without a fear in sight.
It walks toward the cliff calling it a throne.
It smiles while danger grows in the dark.
It trusts a voice that has never told the truth.
It falls before it senses the ground.
The heart too high does not look up anymore.
It only sees the mirror and calls it God.
It never imagines how far it can drop.
It says yes to self and no to wisdom.
It learns too late what warning meant.
Lord, keep me small on solid rock.
Lead my steps with Your steady hand.
Teach me joy in a humble path.
Let pride die before I do.
Lift me only when You decide.
2. Opposed
Pride tries to rise above the need for grace.
It clenches fists around its own strength.
It ignores the open hand of God.
It sees help as weakness.
It finds God as an enemy.
Grace pours down the slope of a low heart.
It searches out the willing and the broken.
It restores the crushed and quiet souls.
It hears the small prayer first.
It floods the lowest valley.
Make me thirsty for grace.
Break the ground of stubbornness.
Give me the courage to bow early.
Let mercy be my covering.
Make humility my home.
3. Under His Hand
The proud resist the pressure of God’s hand.
They run before the work is done.
They demand a crown before the cross.
They choose the stage before the altar.
They lose what they tried to keep.
The humble trust the weight of His palm.
They stay when the proud sprint away.
They wait until He shapes strength in weakness.
They know the lowest place is safest.
They rise only when He lifts.
Hold me under Your hand.
Set my pace to Your wisdom.
Shape me for the day You open doors.
Guard my heart from early victory.
Raise me in Your time.
4. The Listening Heart
Pride talks so much no one can help it.
It answers before the question is asked.
It assumes knowledge without seeking truth.
It rejects correction as an insult.
It falls without knowing why.
Humility listens for the wisdom of God.
It pauses before deciding.
It welcomes counsel from the wise.
It learns from the smallest voice.
It stands when storms rise.
Teach me to listen.
Quiet the noise inside my mind.
Guide my steps through Your counsel.
Give me friends who speak truth.
Make my heart teachable.
5. Honor in the Low Place
The proud chase applause that vanishes.
They run for a name that fades.
They search for seats that shift.
They build on praise that fails.
They end lower than they began.
Honor finds the heart content with silence.
God points to the unnoticed servant.
He lifts the hidden one to the high place.
He celebrates the quiet obedience.
He crowns the humble in due time.
Give me a heart content with unseen work.
Let service be joy enough.
Praise becomes a prison when I crave it.
Freedom is found in obedience.
Honor belongs to Your choosing.
6. A True Measure
Pride creates a false scale.
It weighs others lower to feel taller.
It measures success by comparison.
It forgets grace is the only gain.
It becomes a prisoner of image.
Humility sees truth with clear eyes.
It knows weakness is a teacher.
It sees life as a gift not a contest.
It stands level beneath the cross.
It finds strength in dependence.
Write truth across my thoughts.
End the search for human approval.
Make grace my only measure.
Free me from lies pride whispers.
Let Christ define my worth.
7. The Boast
Pride keeps score on achievements.
It stacks trophies as if they last.
It believes applause fills the soul.
It takes credit for borrowed breath.
It boasts while emptiness grows.
Humility places its boast in God.
It knows wisdom and strength are gifts.
It sees every win as grace.
It celebrates the Giver not the gain.
It rests in what Christ has done.
Silence the urge to self-praise.
Fill my mouth with gratitude.
Let every achievement lift Your name.
I want glory that will not decay.
You alone are worth boasting about.
8. Trembling at His Word
Pride edits Scripture to match desire.
It reads to be right not to be changed.
It bows to no voice but its own.
It ignores what cuts too deep.
It forgets who is speaking.
Humility trembles at every command.
It recognizes the weight of holy truth.
It obeys even when it costs.
It welcomes conviction with open hands.
It bends instead of breaks.
Make my soul tender to Your voice.
Let reverence replace resistance.
Teach me joy in Your commands.
Keep me close to Your heart.
Your Word is my life.
9. The Lowest Seat
Pride pushes to the front of the line.
It fights for position with anxious haste.
It fears being overlooked.
It forces others to notice.
It is humbled by its own ambition.
Humility chooses the quiet corner.
It trusts Jesus to give the invitation.
It serves without fear of missing out.
It knows God sees the hidden work.
It is called forward by His voice.
Make me desire the low seat.
Let me delight in the servant task.
Erase the hunger for rank.
Call me only when You choose.
Your approval is enough.
10. Walking With God
Pride walks ahead expecting God to follow.
It decides and then asks blessing.
It loves its own pace.
It forgets the journey is holy.
It ends up alone.
Humility stays one step behind the Shepherd.
It listens for His direction.
It matches His rhythm.
It finds peace in His presence.
It never walks without Him.
Keep me close to You.
Correct my stride when it speeds ahead.
Set my heart on Your mission.
Let justice and mercy lead my choices.
I want to walk humbly at Your side.