A little humility goes a long way with God. In fact, nothing moves the heart of God like humility.

In the great revival promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14, the first prerequisite to getting God's ear and His ultimate blessing is humility. Both Peter and James declare in the New Testament that God pours grace on the humble (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).

How much humility does it take to move God? We hear of those who make long pilgrimages on their knees or prostrate themselves before God in other ways, but what is God really looking for?

In the Old Testament there was a king named Ahab. This guy was a rascal in so many ways. He deliberately did things to provoke God against him.

For example, he married a foreign princess named Jezebel who moved him to outrageous idolatry. In 1 Kings 16:33, we read, "Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him." One would have to conclude that humility before God was far from Ahab's mind.

The prophet Elijah had several encounters with Ahab. Elijah was the man God used to declare judgment on Ahab, first with the famine in 1 Kings 17:1, and again in 1 Kings 21 after Ahab stole Naboth's vineyard.

When Elijah confronted Ahab and pronounced the specific judgment that every male descendant of Ahab would be killed (1 Kings 21:21), Ahab "tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted" (1 Kings 21:27). The verse continues, "He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly."

When God saw how Ahab behaved, He said to Elijah, "Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me?" (1 Kings 21:29). We might have called it a desperate sham, with everything we read about Ahab, but God saw genuine humility.

Because of the humility of Ahab, God declared in 1 Kings 21:29, "Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son." Ahab still died a violent death (1 Kings 22:34-37), but he did not have to witness the death of his sons.

A little humility in the final days of Ahab's life went a long way with God.

There is a direct application here. God has not changed. Humility and repentance will turn the heart of God. Ahab heard the judgment. We don't know if he said a word, but he obviously agreed that God was Almighty and had power over his life. In that moment, Ahab broke.

That's all God is looking for from us: repentance toward God and faith toward Jesus Christ.