The Best of the Portals of Prayer

Read: Matthew 6:19-21 // Psalm 33:18-22

“Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart.”
Psalm 119:2

Seeking Hearts

A strong cultural current encourages young and old alike to adopt the advice to “follow your heart” as a litmus test when deciding the course of your life. The motto is attractive for its romantic whimsy, but cloaked within it is real danger. Following our hearts can be sound advice only if our hearts are pure, blameless, and reliable. But because of sin, which taints everything and everyone, our hearts are corrupted, guilt-ridden, and fickle. It is little wonder that following our heart has so often landed us in so much trouble. Our heart must be transformed of it to be a useful compass, pointing us toward life with God that is good and meaningful. In our fallen condition, we are turned inward, so that following our heart leads to endless self-centeredness and futility. The pointless cycle is broken only when we are fixed on a more trustworthy reference point. God’s testimony found throughout Scripture comprises the reference point that gives us true hope and direction for our lives; they are the core of His promise that lock our hearts onto our Lord Jesus Christ, whose undying love on a cross causes us to seek Him until we see Him when we rise from our own graves. Hearts linked to Jesus lead directly to God’s eternal blessings.

August 31, 2010