Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer for healing and for a heart restored is heard by the Lord, and it is right to bring these needs to Him in the name of Jesus.
God is near to those who are brokenhearted. He does not turn away from a broken and contrite spirit. The world may try to cheer a heavy heart with empty words, but the Lord draws close to comfort, to save, and to heal. Scripture says He saves those who are of a contrite spirit and that He will not despise a heart that is broken before Him. When David prayed after his own failure, he did not ask first for outward things to be fixed, he asked God to create in him a clean heart. That is the deep work God wants to do. He promises to give a new heart, to circumcise the heart so that we love Him fully. That is an inward work of His Spirit which we cannot do for ourselves.
That helps us understand your prayer that he would put God first. Putting God first does not come by willpower alone. God Himself works in us both to give us the desire and to give us the ability to do what pleases Him. He places His desires within our hearts, and then what was once duty becomes delight. Pray that God would plant that desire in his heart, that he would find joy in doing the will of God, and that his heart would remain soft and open toward the Lord. David was called a man after God's own heart not because he never failed, but because his heart stayed pliable and responsive when God dealt with him. Pray for that kind of pliable heart.
You also prayed about grudges held in the heart. This is a serious matter of the heart, because out of the heart flow the issues of life. Jesus taught that what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and that God looks at the heart more than outward religious words. A heart that honors God with lips while holding onto bitterness is still far from Him. The heart is deceitful and we cannot fully know it ourselves, so we need to ask as David did, search me, O God, and know my heart. Holding a grudge hardens the heart. We see in Scripture how a person can harden his own heart again and again, until the heart becomes firm in that hardness. God wants to do the opposite, to soften, to cleanse, and to teach us mercy. He has said He desires mercy and a forgiving heart more than outward offerings. As we have been forgiven much in Christ, we are called to forgive others from the heart.
For healing, remember that Jesus made provision for healing through His suffering. Isaiah foretold that He bore our sicknesses and Matthew shows that fulfilled in Jesus healing the sick. That healing is first and most deeply the forgiveness of sins and the healing of the heart, and it also includes His care for the body. His heart was broken for us, even to the point of death, so that our broken hearts and bodies could be made whole. Bring every part of this need to Him, trusting His mercy and His power to restore.
May the Lord answer your prayer by drawing near to this broken heart, by creating a clean and willing heart within him, by planting a fresh desire to seek God first, and by releasing every grudge through the forgiveness that comes only through Jesus Christ. Keep praying with confidence that God is able to work within the heart to will and to do what is good in His sight.
God is near to those who are brokenhearted. He does not turn away from a broken and contrite spirit. The world may try to cheer a heavy heart with empty words, but the Lord draws close to comfort, to save, and to heal. Scripture says He saves those who are of a contrite spirit and that He will not despise a heart that is broken before Him. When David prayed after his own failure, he did not ask first for outward things to be fixed, he asked God to create in him a clean heart. That is the deep work God wants to do. He promises to give a new heart, to circumcise the heart so that we love Him fully. That is an inward work of His Spirit which we cannot do for ourselves.
That helps us understand your prayer that he would put God first. Putting God first does not come by willpower alone. God Himself works in us both to give us the desire and to give us the ability to do what pleases Him. He places His desires within our hearts, and then what was once duty becomes delight. Pray that God would plant that desire in his heart, that he would find joy in doing the will of God, and that his heart would remain soft and open toward the Lord. David was called a man after God's own heart not because he never failed, but because his heart stayed pliable and responsive when God dealt with him. Pray for that kind of pliable heart.
You also prayed about grudges held in the heart. This is a serious matter of the heart, because out of the heart flow the issues of life. Jesus taught that what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and that God looks at the heart more than outward religious words. A heart that honors God with lips while holding onto bitterness is still far from Him. The heart is deceitful and we cannot fully know it ourselves, so we need to ask as David did, search me, O God, and know my heart. Holding a grudge hardens the heart. We see in Scripture how a person can harden his own heart again and again, until the heart becomes firm in that hardness. God wants to do the opposite, to soften, to cleanse, and to teach us mercy. He has said He desires mercy and a forgiving heart more than outward offerings. As we have been forgiven much in Christ, we are called to forgive others from the heart.
For healing, remember that Jesus made provision for healing through His suffering. Isaiah foretold that He bore our sicknesses and Matthew shows that fulfilled in Jesus healing the sick. That healing is first and most deeply the forgiveness of sins and the healing of the heart, and it also includes His care for the body. His heart was broken for us, even to the point of death, so that our broken hearts and bodies could be made whole. Bring every part of this need to Him, trusting His mercy and His power to restore.
May the Lord answer your prayer by drawing near to this broken heart, by creating a clean and willing heart within him, by planting a fresh desire to seek God first, and by releasing every grudge through the forgiveness that comes only through Jesus Christ. Keep praying with confidence that God is able to work within the heart to will and to do what is good in His sight.
