Exodus 8:15–But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. 
Though growing up I didn’t have any religious models of true reverence towards God.  What I do remember from television, is the desperation shown towards prayer to God when something “bad” might happen.  So this image of being fervent in prayer, begging God “to just get me out of this” defined what prayer was to me.
Obviously that “reverence” towards God was always short lived, because you didn’t know the person believed in God until something “bad” came into their lives.  Much like a child who is serious about behaving only afterit’s “too late”, proves that a behavior change is completely different than a heart change…
Behaviors, though we may “keep it together” for awhile are temporary.  How we feel about changing, is where behaviors must become a heart change in order for it to be a consistent (not perfect) way of life.  Otherwise as soon as we find “relief” from any impending consequences, we go right back to our behavior, because we never really changed at the heart level…
In this situation with Pharaoh, God had warned him through Moses and Aaron, about his impending consequences of not letting the children of Israel go.  In Pharaoh’s pride and irreverence he resisted their words and allowed numerous plagues to invade Egypt.  But when the plagues got unbearable he “humbled” himself and “prayed” to God for mercy.  Yet would never have his heart changed towards God…
Challenge yourself, and ask how much of your Christian life is centered around mercy for a behavior(s) you refuse to seek God to change?  Though change is something we can’t ultimately control, how we feel about the behavior tells us where our heart is in relation to God.  As a Christian, disobedience should bring sadness, because it grieves our Lord and is detrimental to us/others.  But to not be moved at the heart level at all from such actions, could be a sign of being more like Pharaoh than a humble believer…(1 Timothy 1:18-20, James 4:4-10, Mark 16:14)
In His Love, Ld