A Prayer to Aim Your Heart Toward God
By: Alisha Headley
“Therefore, circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer.” - Deuteronomy 10:16
Years ago, I hired a nutritionist. She advised me that when I am deciding on what to eat to always remember the phrase, “if it doesn’t nurture or nourish you, get rid of it.” Now, of course, she was referring to food. But I’ve taken this phrase and applied it to every area of my life, especially if it affects my spiritual walk with the Lord.
In today’s verse, we read that Moses told the Israelites to keep the commandments of the law and serve only God with their whole heart, not a divided one. He tells them to circumcise their heart and be stiff-necked no longer meaning, they should no longer be argumentative walking in their own ways. Circumcision is used here metaphorically to emphasize the importance of cutting away any affections that would interrupt complete obedience and total devotion to the Lord. When Moses spoke to his people, they were not loving the Lord and only the Lord, rather, they had other devotions distracting them from serving God with all their heart.
A “circumcised heart” is open and responsive to the commands and directions from the Lord. If we are aiming our hearts toward those things in our life that are not nurturing and nourishing our walk with the Lord, it makes it difficult for us to hear his directions. What is your heart aimed at? Do you need to re-direct your heart toward the Lord?
Misplaced affections interrupt your wholehearted devotion. An important part of walking holy and right with God is getting rid of those affections aimed away from the Lord.
What is in your life that is not nurturing and nourishing your walk from the Lord? TV shows, social media sites, friendships, bad habits, attitudes, unforgiveness? What do you need to circumcise from your heart today?
Let’s get rid of and cut these misplaced affections from our heart and aim our minds and hearts toward the Lord.
Dear Lord,
Thank you that the teachings in Scripture are still relevant to our lives today. Your Word is “alive and active.” We ask that the Holy Spirit please open our eyes so we may see anything that is hindering our relationship with you.
Reveal things, people, or attitudes of our hearts that no longer nurture or nourish our walk with you. Please forgive us for the idols we place above you. Forgive us for not honoring you with our whole heart.
Forgive our half-hearted devotion and misplaced affections. Continue to guide us and teach us the truth of your Word. May we not harden our heart when we hear your voice, but rather circumcise those things of our heart that you’re asking us to remove.
May we become more righteous in your eyes. Thank you for your power and strength of the Holy Spirit to begin opening the eyes of our heart so our devotion can be solely on you. We love you, and praise you and your majesty.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Alisha Headley is a writer and speaker who has a desire to meet the everyday woman in her everyday life with biblical truth. Healing from a chapter of life consumed with lies she once believed about herself, she is inspired to point women to Christ to experience the freedom and power to overcome those lies with the truth written in God’s Word. You can follow her blog by visiting her website or connect with her on facebook + instagram.
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
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