“Pray for Pure Hearts”

Tuesday, April 02, 2019

"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."
(Prov. 4:23)

"What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
(Mark 7:20-23)

In the Bible, we are whole people—soul and body. And from ancient times, the Lord has talked about our hearts as the center of both of those. The heart is the hub: what you do with your body, what you say with your mouth, what you think in your mind, and what you desire in your soul... all of them center in the heart. It is the place where decisions are made and where our deepest desires abide.

It's no wonder, then, that the Spirit talks about how important it is for us to have pure hearts. The passages referenced above could be supplemented by a myriad of others that emphasize pure thoughts, righteous desires, and clean consciences.

Work toward that today. Pray for a pure heart (cf. Psa. 51:7-12). Control your thoughts. Don't just strive for purity in actions & words; see if there is some wickedness hiding in the corners of your heart where only you and God know about it, and let him cleanse it (cf. Psa. 139:23-24). Let your heart be pure in every way, and let that bring the freedom and joy that God intends to give you.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
(Matt. 5:8)

- Dan Lankford, minister

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