(A morning prayer journal from April)
Passage: Matthew 5:1-10
Word or Phrase
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8 NIV)
Those whose hearts are single and unmixed are clear in their vision of God. When I allow my heart to be divided by many opposing movements, my vision of God is unclear, perhaps distorted like a funhouse mirror or obscured like a dirty window.
I’m not sure I have direct access to making my own heart clean. I think, like David, I need to come to God and ask for the gift of a clean heart. Perhaps I can seek to keep my heart pure.
Emotion / Response
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8 NIV)
I feel a deep thirst to know God’s blessing. Perhaps saying it that way, I sometimes feel unblessed. Maybe my need is to realize that I can be blessed in whatever condition I find myself.
I feel a little intimidated by the phrase “pure in heart.” It feels lofty and unattainable. I’m so aware of my own mixed motives in everything I do. Some of my motives are noble. Some aren’t. I thirst for a vision of You that would draw all of my motives into You to be refined.
In all of this, I do feel blessed…in many ways.
Invitation
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8 NIV)
I sense You saying, “Offer this day to Me. Do not allow the motives for perceived productivity creep into this day. Do not worry about two-and-a-half chapters remaining in your writing. I can give you more and better in a few days than you can produce by your own efforts in weeks or months.
“Come to Me today. Linger with me. Take a walk with Me. Read with Me. Enjoy time with Gem before Me. Enjoy your meals with Me. Listen to others with Me. Allow Me to be your primary Companion throughout this day. Be patient in the face of distracting thoughts. Don’t let them divert you. You will be blessed. You are blessed.”
Click here to make any Amazon purchase in support of this blog.
This does not add to the cost of your order, but provides a referral fee to this ministry.
[Click to learn more]
Think we all are divided like this all the time, for me I take so much time away from God and spend it worrying about things that might happen but usually don’t. What a lesson God gave me this last week. Really stressed week at work (more so than usual). I concentrated so much on prayers for wisdom and centeredness all week. I was so blessed, at least two instances (that I am aware of) where only God could have interevened and made me aware of situations. If this wasn’t incentive to worry less and pray and trust more; I don’t know what is.
Thanks for your comments about worry. It’s a “go to” place for me as well when I’m not remaining aware of God. I’m finding that Paul’s counsel in Philippians 4:6-7, especially about addressing anxiety with thanksgiving, has been helping. Whatever it is that I’m tempted to worry about, I find a way to thank God that He already knows, will provide what I need, etc.