CHAPTER 15A
PREPARING YOUR HEART “My child listen and be wise; keep your heart on the right course” Proverbs 23:19a
N
otice that God places the responsibility for the course of our hearts on us. We often want to saddle God with the responsibility for making our choices for us with prayers that say “Lord make me this or make me that.” If you ask to be a person of prayer and the Word, God won’t force you out of bed each morning to spend the necessary time reading and praying. You will need to set your alarm, choose not to hit snooze, and be diligent about it. If you pray a prayer like “God make me an honest person” you will still be responsible to choose to tell the truth. The Holy Spirit can remind you in the moment of your commitment to be honest but the responsibility for your choice and for the preparation of your heart is yours. 2 Chronicles 12:14 says “And he did evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord:” The clear implication is that if he had prepared his heart then he would have done what was right. In this chapter I am going to give eight steps to preparing your heart. Your heart is really a combination of your soul and your spirit. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” 74
