Seeking God's Help

"Lord, I call on You: hurry to help me. Listen to my voice when I call on You. May my prayer be set before you as incense, the raising of my hands as the evening offering. Lord set up a guard for my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips. Do not let my heart turn to any evil thing or perform wicked acts with men who commit sin" (Psalm 141:1-4, HCSB).

This is a psalm of David. David was a man after God's own heart. He would do whatever God asked of him. David was a man who wanted what God wanted more than what he himself wanted (most of the time). Yet David prays this prayer.

It is hard to imagine a pursuer of God's heart needing to pray this prayer. Typically, our culture views genuinely faithful people as a class apart. Our instinct is to see them as having it all together, and having altogether different struggles than our own. But David challenges that perception.

David fervently worshiped the Lord. He faithfully pursued the glory of God, and yet we read of David committing adultery with the wife of a close friend, ordering the execution of that friend, and giving himself over to his pride.

If we allow this passage to challenge our perceptions, it may teach us an important truth: those who most diligently pursue God's heart are, most usually, those who have ceased from trusting their own. To put it another way, those who recognize the evil that exists in their own hearts look to God to change them.

Here David speaks with urgency. He desperately needed God to show up, and keep him from doing something he would regret forever. Apart from the Lord's intervention, we are incapable of pursuing his heart or heeding his will.

David probably knew the craftiness of the human heart better than most today. Yet, even he could be taken it by it. But he knew the Lord could not, so he asked him to shield his heart. Hopefully, we'll wise up and follow David's example.

Keep Watch Over Your Heart

"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life" (Prov. 4:23, ESV).

Although I preached a sermon on this verse over a year ago, I think I am only beginning to grasp its significance. Each passing day, I find this verse's relevance growing more and more.

I am learning that there is never a moment when we can let our guard down.  We can never take a vacation day where our heart is concerned.  We must continually keep vigil over our heart.  Given the opportunity the heart would mutiny, and sell us into slavery.  We must keep watch.

If we allow our heart to turn to its own way, we poison our life.  The heart is the wellspring of life.  From out of the stores of the heart the mouth speaks.  If we are not careful, our heart can be swept away by any number of enemies: lust, covetousness, hatred, complacency, apathy, rebellion, laziness, self-worship, addiction, etc.

The heart is susceptible to many attacks.  We all have weakened defenses.  We must all be on our guard.  Are you vigilantly watching your heart to ensure that you remain loyal to the Lord?  The only way we can succeed at guarding our hearts is to ask God to enable us to guard it and to keep us watchful.  Friends, keep watch over your hearts.