21 Days of Prayer | Day Twenty

Hello Graceway, this is Jen Chartres here from Crosslands in the United Kingdom. It's fantastic to be back with you all for another day of your 21 days of prayer. Today, day 20, we're going to be focusing on confession and cleansing. Now I'm speaking to you today from my kitchen here. It's the busiest room in our house and I love being in here either cooking or chatting, usually both at the same time. But our regular family kitchen here in Northern England has been the scene of a bit of an epic power struggle for the last few months. Our son, he's in his 20s, came back to live with us for a year or so and he decided that he wanted to really learn how to cook. But this is in my kitchen, right? So some of you have a good idea how this is going to go. I've been cooking for 50 years. I reckon I've got some wisdom to offer. So I want to come in and perhaps I see a culinary disaster unfolding. There have been a few. And I say something like this, son, won't you pay attention to what I'm saying? Won't you turn your ear to my words? Why not take a closer look at the instructions? Maybe you need to learn some of these basics by heart because you know, good cooking is a wonderful thing and good food brings health for your whole body. And he replies, well, he doesn't actually reply. He rolls his eyes at me and says, yeah, whatever, mum. I'm going to learn cooking my way. So you just let me know when the kitchen's free. And he walks out leaving pretty much every single cupboard door open behind him. And I'm here thinking, hey, whose kitchen is this anyway? But here's the thing. I can see something of myself in his reaction to my offer of wisdom. My heart also wants to do things my way. The Lord has promised wisdom and flourishing to those who trust in him. And that's what he offers me and invites me to as his beloved child. Yet at every turn, my temptation is to prefer doing it my way. Well, in the early chapters of Proverbs, a wise, loving father is addressing his son. He wants the very best for his son and he knows what will bring his son the best things in life. And the key to that is the wholehearted, relentless pursuit of wisdom. Wisdom that begins with knowing and loving the Lord and shunning foolishness. And in Proverbs chapter four, starting at verse 20, we read this, My son, pay attention to what I say. Turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight. Keep them within your heart, for they are life to those who find them and health to one's whole body. And then we come to this in verse 23, our text for today, above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. Let me read that again, above all else, guard your heart for

everything you do flows from it. Here's the conundrum. Guarding our hearts is nearly an impossible task because we're not guarding ourselves against what comes from outside of us, as if cutting ourselves off from harmful influences from the outside will guarantee a pure heart. In Mark chapter seven, Jesus told his disciples that what comes out of a person is what defiles them. He says, for it is from within, from out of a person's heart that evil thoughts come. Sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander and arrogance and folly. These evils come from inside and they defile a person. You see, everything we do flows from our hearts and that means that guarding our hearts is not simply stopping bad stuff getting to our hearts, like cutting out unhealthy foods. Our problem is that our hearts left to themselves are the very source of the bad stuff that then flows out. Writing to the church at Colossae, Paul also reminds his readers that guarding our hearts from the outside is foolish, setting rules like, do not handle, do not taste, do not touch, might have an appearance of wisdom, but they lack any value in really transforming us to be like Jesus. No, the only sure way to guard my heart is a complete retuning and reorientation of my heart towards Christ himself. Here's how that kind of thing works. You see, when I read a beautifully written book, I'm going to stop squirreling through the rubbish on my phone. When I look up and focus on a beautiful view in front of me, my eyes will stop noticing the mess or distractions immediately in front of me. And therefore, when I fix my eyes on Christ, the other idols that I'm tempted to pursue start to lose their appeal and their power. So let's guard our hearts today and every day. Maybe you need to start by recognising and confessing those desires that come from within that can never satisfy. Maybe you need to keep on guarding your heart by filling your vision with Christ, Christ who is the power of God and the wisdom of God, Christ the object of your desire. Well, let me leave you with some ways you could be praying for the Lord's help in guarding your heart, and then I'm going to pray these for us together. The first thing is confess, recognise and bring before the Lord honestly and often the ways in which your heart is drawn to desire and love other things that will never satisfy. We can all pray with David in Psalm 51, creating me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

The second thing is request, place your heart before the Lord and ask him to keep renewing you by the power of his spirit. It is the same God who at the moment of creation said, let light shine out of darkness, who has shone light in our hearts, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, which we see in the face of Jesus. Thirdly, reflect. Maybe instead of scrolling on your phone today, why not take time to read and reflect deeply on Lord Jesus. Read a psalm, look at one of the Gospels, read one of the wonderful epistles, read slowly and turn those trees into praise and prayer. That's how to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. And fourth, respond. As you go about your everyday life, you can choose to let the peace of Christ, allow the peace of Christ to rule over your heart and in your heart. Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the Lord, giving thanks to God, our Father. Well, let me pray those things for us all right now. Our loving Father, source and creator of all light and life and wisdom, we confess that our desires for the things you have created so quickly and easily replace your supremacy in our hearts. Lord, by the mighty power of your spirit, would you retune our hearts so that we are filled with the wonder and beauty of the knowledge of your glory displayed in the face of Christ. Stir up in us, Lord, an attitude to dwell richly upon Christ, to feast on the riches of your word, to consume and to be consumed by the wisdom that comes from you. And Lord, teach us what it means to be ruled by the peace of Christ in every moment of life. Teach us to guard our hearts so that everything that flows from them reflects the light and life of Christ to your glory. Amen.