Don’t let it be the National Day of Half-a-Prayer

Today in the U.S., it is the annual National Day of Prayer. Undoubtedly, many Christians will be asking God to change our country and our culture. They will pray for wisdom for our leaders. They will pray against the moral issues of the day. They will confront the evil forces at work in our land. They will pray for revival.

But to confront the darkness in this world without also asking God to search and root out the pockets of darkness in our own hearts is only half a prayer.

In speaking of the National Day of Prayer, Daniel Henderson of ‘Strategic Renewal’ writes, “When we pray for other issues and miss the primary need to become more like Christ as we pray, we are shortsighted. When we pray in order to be changed, we become [God’s] agents of change.”   

Have you Checked your Vital Signs Recently?

Having many doctor’s appointments this year, I've had my vital signs checked more than some people do in a lifetime! Yesterday, as I watched the nurse take my temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure, it occurred to me there are also corresponding vital signs of faith that determine our spiritual vitality.

Paul tells us that “In Christ, we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28), roughly translated “He is our life and breath.” Christ is the force of life coursing through our veins; our hearts beat with His; His Word is the air we breathe. Yes indeed, Christ is our life (Col. 3:3) but we can only experience such vitality to the degree we live by faith and not by our senses.

And absent His vitality, our hearts grow cold, our passion wanes, our prayers become lifeless, and our ministries stale. If we’ve been feeling spiritually anemic lately, or having shortness of breath (His), perhaps it is time to examine our vital signs to see whether we are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5).

Dick Cheney got a New Heart, Not a Change of Heart

Political comics and cartoonists are having a field day with the double entendre of the ultra-conservative VP’s heart transplant: cartoonists picture him in the recovery room with a “change of heart”—transformed into a liberal Democrat!  Of course a “new heart” doesn't mean a “change of heart.” But wouldn’t it be great if it were that easy. But isn’t that God's promise through Ezekiel? “I will give you a new heart... I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart” (36:26).

Just as the doctors had to remove Cheney's disease ridden heart before replacing it with a new one, God does heart surgery on us, removing the things that make us sick before doing a new thing in our lives. Getting a new heart is a one-time operation but a change of heart is an ongoing procedure.

There's a fascinating spiritual analogy here. Humans have an immune system which protects the body against foreign invasions, i.e., infections. When the immune system perceives the new heart to be 'foreign' matter, it rejects it.  Thus, a recipient of a new heart must take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life.  Similarly, even though we have received a new heart, a change of heart will be resisted by a fleshly instinct to fight it (Gal. 5:17). The antidote to a “flesh” takeover is a daily heart examination by the Word of God (Ps. 26:2; 119:9, 67). And even after your new heart results in a change of heart, you will need to watch over it with all diligence.” (Prov. 4:23).

Are You Heartless?

The expression “I have no heart for that” means to have no enthusiasm for it. The phrase came to my mind after reading this quote by Andrew Murray: “Jesus has carried away our hearts with Him. We have no heart left for anyone but Him, or for anything that He is not part of.” The phrase “she/he stole my heart” also came to mind. Logically (I thought), if someone’s heart had been carried away or stolen, then they would have no heart—they would be heartless.

Now of course the word “heartless” has an entirely different connotation, doesn't it!  It means ‘devoid of feelings.’ I fear, however, that this word may indeed be more characteristic, than not, of too many professing Christians who have little or no heart for the deeper things of God.

Jesus said the entire Law could be summed up in this statement: “Love the Lord God with all your heart” (Matt. 22:37). Think about it!  If we truly did that, we would be anything but “heartless.” We would be “heartfull”—because God would fill our hearts with His love, comfort, and joy; he would fill us with the fruit of righteousness, with the knowledge of His will; we would be full of His Spirit, who would then fill us with His fullness. (Rom. 5:5; 2 Cor. 7:4; Eph 5:18; Phil. 1:11; Col 1:9; Eph 3:19).  Heartless? No! "Heartfull?" Yes! 

My Brother had a Hidden Heart Condition

Tomorrow is the birthday of my younger brother Jeff. He would be 55 this year. But he died—suddenly and unexpectedly—at the age of 38, of a hidden heart condition. Had he known, he would have received treatment; perhaps he would be alive today. We’ll never know…

This week I learned that a younger sister in the Lord has had a moral failure. I was shocked of course. But I was able to put it in perspective by remembering that my sister has a heart condition—a spiritual one; and it went untreated. I had been her counselor off and on—her spiritual ‘doctor,’ you might say. Had I known she had this heart condition, perhaps I could have prescribed a daily dose of truth to be applied to her vulnerability. But it was not to be; her heart condition remained hidden—all the while eroding her good health by shutting off the flow of Jesus’ life through her spiritual veins.

Several years ago, my older brother Ken had a massive heart attack—again, a hidden heart condition. My response? I immediately scheduled an appointment for a thorough examination by a cardiologist, to make certain I had no hidden heart condition.

So when our sister or brother has one of these spiritual ‘heart attacks,’ does it not motivate each of us to take inventory of our own hearts, that God might show us our own deep-seated vulnerabilities? And if we should find a weakness, to begin working on a treatment plan? “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart; [for I know] You desire truth in my innermost being” (Psalm 56:2: 51:6).