A Prayer for a Pure Heart to See God
By Emma Danzey
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” - Matthew 5:8
As Jesus began His longest recorded sermon, He started with the Beatitudes. Each of the eight statements says, “Blessed are…” Following the sixth beatitude is blessed are the pure in heart. What does it mean to be pure in heart?
From the beginning of time, when Adam and Eve chose to sin, the heart of humanity has been corrupted by the sinful condition. Scripture tells us that the heart is deceitful above all else. (Jeremiah 17:9) The truth is that our hearts are not pure. Nothing about us is holy. We were all once deserving of wrath but because of God’s great love for us, we have been saved by His grace. (Ephesians 2:3-5)
God says in Ezekiel 36:26-27, “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”
When we ponder our own hearts of stone today, may we be thankful that Christ has given us new hearts. He has put His Holy Spirit within us to empower us to live in freedom and walk in His ways. One of the beautiful prayers written by David in the Scriptures is Psalm 51.
Psalm 51:10-11 says, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.”
Interestingly, Psalm 51 was written after David’s horrific sins of adultery and murder. Why would this be a time when David would have a pure heart? We see him in a broken and repentant state. He knows that his heart is sinful. It was not just physical actions against God and others, but the evil intentions found within his own heart. He requests renewal and pleads with God not to cast his presence from him or take his Holy Spirit from him.
The only hope we ever have of a pure heart is by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Today, as we pray, let’s reflect on the work of God’s Spirit in us. May we come to God repentant like David and surrender to His softening of our hearts.
Let's pray:
Dear Lord,
We come before you today with hearts full of sin. We have been led astray in our own fleshly desires and have listened to the voice of the enemy. We have fallen into temptation. We have sinned against You and others just like David. All we have to offer you are filthy rags. You tell us that those who are pure in heart are blessed, and they will see you. We are coming before you to request that by Your Holy Spirit in us, we would have pure hearts and see You. Guide us and lead us to love you first above all. Help us to look to You in every moment. Open our eyes to see You in our circumstances, in the mundane, and in big life decisions.
Father, we need you. We ask that You would give us hearts that are flesh, not of stone. Forgive us for any areas that we have allowed ourselves to harden. Soften our hearts yet again by the mercy of Your Spirit. Speak to us through Your holy Word. Thank You for Your Bible. You say in Jeremiah 17:9-10, “Who can understand the human heart? There is nothing else so deceitful; it is too sick to be healed You, the Lord, search the minds and test the hearts of people. You treat each of them according to the way they live, according to what they do.”
Lord, we all have a condition in our hearts called sin. We need You. We are too sick to be healed, but You, Jesus, have come to make a way for us to be forgiven, restored, and renewed. We celebrate that we are changed by You today. We thank You for giving us a pure heart. We are 100% miraculously healed. Help us to live out this identity as children of God. We pray for purity of heart today and eyes to be opened to see you. Amen.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/AaronAmat
Emma Danzey’s mission in life stems from Ephesians 3:20-21, to embrace the extraordinary. One of her greatest joys is to journey with the Lord in His Scriptures. She is wife to Drew and mom to Graham. Emma serves alongside her husband in ministry, she focuses most of her time in the home, but loves to provide articles on the Bible, life questions, and Christian lifestyle. Her article on Interracial Marriage was the number 1 on Crosswalk in 2021. Most recently, Emma released Treasures for Tots, (Scripture memory songs) and multiple books and devotionals for young children. During her ministry career, Emma has released Wildflower: Blooming Through Singleness, two worship EP albums, founded and led Polished Conference Ministries, and ran the Refined Magazine. You can view her articles on her blog at emmadanzey.wordpress.com
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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