Pure Heart
Monday, December 5
Pure Heart
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Psalm 139:23
In Proverbs 4:23, it says ‘Above all else guard your heart for everything you do flows from it’. This along with many other verses emphasizes how important our hearts are to God. We can especially appreciate the verse in 1 Samuel 16:7, when Samuel was presenting to the Lord future possible kings, based upon their physical appearance. God tells Samuel, ‘The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’. As much as I love this, I equally find it quite scary!
Why? Because each time I read it I am reminded that God knows my inner thoughts. As we are born sinners, sometimes the temptation is to please ourselves rather than God. But we must be reminded that there is no hiding from God.
So what is the attitude of your heart today?
If there are obvious things, then I encourage you to bring them before the Lord. Maybe, like David, you can cry out to God to cleanse you from within. In Psalm 51:10, after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, David cried out to the Lord, ‘Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me’. If things are not so obvious, then I encourage you to pray the scripture above, and ask the Lord to search your heart and test your anxious thoughts.
Prayer for today: Loving Father, I thank You for the importance that Your word highlights regarding the state of my heart. Forgive me when I focus on things rather than You. I pray that You will give me a pure heart, O God, and put a steadfast spirit within me. Amen.