It’s interesting that Jesus opens His sermon on the Mount with, (NASB) 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3, NASB).” The NASB footnote describes poor as, “those who are not spiritually arrogant.” To me it means those who are open to hearing God’s word. They are hungry for the bread of life and living water.
There have been times in my life where my spirit has been drained. I’ve felt poor in spirit, not self confident nor self sufficient, but empty inside. I did not feel arrogant about my faith in Jesus, but less than worthy. Those were the times when I cried out to the Lord just as the Psalmists often did (Psalm 88:13 and 130:1 as examples).
In that emptied state, I was more open to receiving the blessings Jesus mentioned in Matthew 5:4-10: comfort (4); inheritance (5); satisfaction (6); mercy (7); seeing God (8); being a child of God (9); the kingdom of Heaven (10). By making ourselves vulnerable to God, we are better equipped to love Him with our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5).
140 Character Christian 