Pride is a defensive spirit by nature, I call it the “Camouflage Spirit” because the person who has it seems to always be convinced that they don’t. This is actually pretty unusual, as a person with any other spiritual problem will be aware of the fact that they have a problem. A person with Pride will think they are doing nothing wrong, that the world is against them and the call of God on their life is just SO big but they can’t seem to get a leg up.
Often the stronghold of Pride is especially oriented around lies and wrong beliefs about God. See the Stronghold Dismantling Method here. It is also very helpful to pray the “Heart of Abraham Prayer” to surrender a person’s personal area of gifting and calling and any assumed idols. This tends to really help with Pride and it seems to always be oriented around twisting the person’s calling and potential in God into a self-exalting state.
‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. 1 Peter 5:5
“And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you. Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:6-10
The problem with pride is we’re the last one to know we’re prideful. It’s a secret sin. A secret to us. Everyone else is well aware that we have it, and others roll their eyes when we put it on display. If we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to shine His light on our heart, then pride will ruin everything it touches within our life. So pray this prayer with me, read the passage below, and let’s ask the Father to remove the pride from our life.
Prayer against Pride:
Father, I take authority over Pride and ask that you reveal its roots and its lies. Never let me be convinced that my fortresses are my strengths. You’re my strength and my security. Father, don’t let me hinge the security of my heart on houses and nice things- this will only cause me to pervert justice. Lord, I don’t want to oppress the poor because I have a competitive spirit. Give me a humble attitude that will take the time to love everyone! Restrain my pride in seasons of victory. These victories didn’t come from my strength, they came from Your gracious hand. How foolish of me to take pride in something given to me by Your grace; even my natural talent came from You. I renounce and repent of all pride in my heart and mind, because if I don’t, oppression will come upon me. Father, I look to You in humility because I can’t walk this out without Your help. I pray this in the mighty name of Jesus, the true humble servant.
Heart of Abraham 