Day 5- Prayer Journal: Matters of the Heart

Scripture
"Create in me a clean heart, Oh God; and renew a right spirit within me." - Psalm 51:10

I absolutely love chocolate, Coke, mochas, and latte. Can we say I am obsessed with caffeine? I know that females should not have excess levels of caffeine because it is simply unhealthy. But that doesn't stop us from craving things we shouldn't. Why do we think that we must have things that we really shouldn't? It is a heart thing!

Many people believe that the heart is the most important organ in the human body. But it is the most dangerous, too. If your heart is not functioning properly, your life is in danger. It is central to your existence. Just like your physical heart is the central hub for life, and it must pump blood efficiently throughout the body in order for you to survive, our spiritual hearts are the control centers of our lives. In Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Our hearts are deceivers. Our hearts hold on to things that it shouldn't and we don't even realize it. It seems strange that the scripture says we don't know our own hearts. But it is such a deceiver that often it fools even us. Isn't that amazing? But God is a discerner of the heart, only He knows what is in our hearts. I used to think that my mind was the playground for deception. But the Bible says that it is our hearts that deceive above all things; our hearts filter our experiences, feelings, and knowledge to devise a wicked scheme for us to carry out instead of God's plan. For example, when someone you trust or care about betrays you for the first time in that relationship, our hearts process the fact that we are in a loving or trusting relationship with that person, that something they did or said made us feel angry or sad, so the heart decides that we can no longer trust that person or it convinces our mind to not let ourselves love or get as close to that person or other people in order to protect us from experiencing that situation again. Makes sense doesn't it? Except God says that we should not let the sun go down on our angry reaction and Jesus tells us to forgive others so that our heavenly Father can forgive us in the same way. See what I mean, the heart wants you to respond with a behavior that disobeys God. Isn't that wicked?

Focus

• In your journal, ask God to show you areas where your heart deceived you and convinced you to act contrary to God's will. What lies have you believed because your heart (instincts) told you something was true? What assumptions have your heart formed about people you love and trust? (Your heart is a liar and cannot read someone else's heart.)
• Pray for God to create a clean heart in you and to show you every time your heart seeks to trick you into accepting anything contrary to the word of God.
• Ask God to give you His heart, so that what God loves you will begin to love (His priorities become your priorities). Record the revelation He gives you about what is on His heart!

Remember

Thank you God for my prayer journal challenge sisters. I love and adore you, Jesus. Thank you for the praise reports that keep coming our way. We honor and worship you for who you are. May you continue to be gloriried in our lives and throughout the earth. Amen.

Be Blessed!