WRITE GOD’S WORD ON YOUR HEART
Dear Friends,
I am writing this blog in a coffee shop, music is playing in the background. Sometimes a phrase in a song will get stuck in my head. We are surrounded by signs and slogans, instructions, advertising and messaging. The world is trying to write on your heart. But there is more. The Bible reminds us that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV) So you can expect that the accuser, the father of lies, is also whispering to you and trying to write on your heart. Finally, I am fallen and in my flesh seek to be god myself – so my flesh tries to keep its message on my heart – be the center – be god. In light of the reality you face, it is good to pray that the Lord will do what only He can do – write His word on your heart.
In my last blog I shared a prayer I learned from the English Reformers. As each one of the Ten Commandments is read, there is a pause, and you are invited to pray, “Lord have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keep your law.” However, the Reformers have a different prayer to pray after the tenth and final commandment has been read, “Lord have mercy upon us, and write all these laws in our hearts, we ask in Jesus’ name.” Once again, this is a prayer I have made my own and to which I often pray after I have read a passage in the Bible, “Lord have mercy upon me, and write your word in my heart, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.” A couple of points.
First, given that the world, the flesh and the devil are rarely silent, I need to be silent before God’s word written every day. The whole Bible is God’s word written. At the same time, every word, sentence, paragraph, chapter, book and Testament is also God’s word written. When you read the Bible, you are hearing God speak. The Bible does not contain or reveal God’s word, it is God’s word. All good conversations with God begin with silence. I need to be silent to listen to Him speak. After listening, then I can speak in response. But I need more than simply listening. I need His word to be imprinted on my heart, the center of who I am. You cannot really ask the Lord to write His word on your heart if you are not reading His word. But if you do read His word, it is good to ask Him to write His word on your heart.
Second, you do not always know what to say in response to God’s word, but you can, and should, ask Him to write His word on your heart. It is important to read God’s word from cover to cover, you do not always know how it is relevant to you, and you do not know what to say to the Lord in response. This is where this prayer is helpful. Every part of His word written is precious and important, even if this is not always obvious in the moment. So I pray trusting Him, “Lord have mercy upon me and write this Your word in my heart.”
Third, God’s word written instructs you to pray that His word will be written on your heart. Referring to the words being taught, we read, “Write them on the tablet of your heart” (Proverbs 3:3, 7:3 ESV). And of course “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27 ESV). The Holy Spirit comes in conversion to give us a new heart to know and walk in accordance with God’s word. So you pray, “Lord have mercy upon me and write your word in my heart, I ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
George+