Consistently in our Scriptures and Tradition, God grants special attention to the lowly and those in need. There's incredible imagery in the reading from Sirach about the prayer not withdrawing until answered by the Most High, in a just way.
As Deacon Kevin mentioned in his homily at Ascension Parish, the interior disposition of the heart is important in prayer. We can be lowly in the way we offer our prayer from the heart, as we acknowledge God is God, and we are not. That's why Jesus says the tax collector, a despised sinner in ancient Israel, went home justified from his time of prayer at the Temple, rather than the Pharisee, because the tax collector was lowly enough to recognize his erring ways and his need for God's mercy, just as we do at Mass.
It is in a state of lowliness that we can be confident in God's action. St. Paul humbly lived out his faith in striving to do God's work, and in the 2nd reading from 2 Timothy, recognizing the end of his life draws near, he reflects in stirring words, saying he has "fought the good fight...finished the race...kept the faith", with "the crown of righteousness" in store for him. Even when all abandoned him, God stood by him so that he could boldly proclaim the message of God all the way through. My family felt those words reflected my Grandpa Martin's path through life, and put them on his headstone, in accordance with something akin to the NIV translation of that passage.
Indeed, when we live life with a mesure of lowliness, we open ourselves to God's ability to act in and through us, and God will justify us now and at the end with great reward.
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