Matter of the Heart

I've been blogging with a friend who's in a discussion group for the recently released book, Gutsy Faith by Jeff Edmondson. For more about the discussion, see his blog - http://zimmerzblogz.blogspot.com/

Here's one of my recent thoughts about prayer - addressed to Matt, but good for us all! Enjoy!

Matt, I've been finding that prayer is a matter of the heart (a.k.a. spirit). For me, a clearer understanding of how I operate and function provides me with the foundation for setting my prayers in order.

First we consider that as humans we're made up of body (physical), soul (intellectual) and spirit (spiritual). In the garden, before original sin, we were in perfect communication with God. It was a real "give and take" realationship. After that sin took place, the eternal consequences were passed down, and our spirit connection to God was broken. If you talk to anyone with a disability, like blindness, your likely to hear that the other senses have become stronger to make up for the lack of the missing sense.

In that same way, I think that our body and soul "overdevelop" to make up for the lack of spiritual connection. Left to ourselves, we would attempt to work our way into eternal security, while intellectualizing why our plan should work.

Anyway - it's our broken spirit that the Bible addresses over and over again. It's not an appeal for us to be more physically comfortable or smarter in the "ways of the world." The entire book is the story about how we got where we are. The New Testament is specifically about the rebirth of our spirit - through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ AND how that relationship changes our attitudes, beliefs and responses in the physical and intellectual.

I've been in Psalm 86 this week - working through the devotional by Dennis Kinlaw, This day with the master. The author has brought out verses 11 & 12 "Teach me your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; UNITE my heart to fear your name. I will praise You, O Lord, my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify your name forevermore."

This verse goes along with what you're saying about the name of Jesus. The author makes this statement about it, "The psalmist wants to walk in the way of the Lord, yet he knows that a divided heart will make it impossible. He cries our for God to unite his heart, so that it is not a combination of two wills. When his heart is whole, he can praise God with all his heart, as he knows he ought to do." See Mark 12:30 to fully comprehend how much God wants all of us!

Two things strike me: 1)God is the ONE who will unite our heart! and 2) when our heart is united, we have tapped directly into what it takes to live our lives in the spirit of The Lord's Prayer. Surrender is the key that unlocks the door.