Guard Your Heart
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23
Our hearts are revealed by our thoughts, and the Lord listens to our hearts. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7) Since God knows our thoughts, it is necessary that we take control of our thoughts.
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm:23-24) We pray that the Lord will enable us to control our thoughts, because our thoughts tell everything about us, and gives our motivation for everything we do. We can do great works for the Lord, but God looks at our hearts to see our true motivation. God wants us to be motivated by love for Him, and love for others.
We guard our heart by controlling our thoughts, which means our brains will rewire to Godly thoughts. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2) If we can control our thoughts, keeping our thoughts on things above, then after a few weeks the rewiring of our brain can be noticed. The more we keep our thoughts on things above the faster the brain rewires. Old sinful memories will be replaced by new Godly memories.
Do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:27) Satan is always trying to control our thinking, because he knows we live out of our hearts, and he knows God listens to our hearts. Satan will activate our weakest point to trigger a sinful fleshly desire. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5) Whenever we have a sinful thought, we change it to a thought obedient to Christ. We can read or quote a scripture, and move away from the location of the sinful thought. We must destroy the thought before the emotion powers the thought to be conceived in our minds. God promises us an escape form any sinful thought.
We guard our hearts by destroying any thought that is not pleasing to God, and we pray and ask the Lord for his divine help in destroying sinful thoughts. Once we master capturing our thoughts, we will feel the satisfaction of being victorious over Satan. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4) God has given us his power to overcome sinful temptations, and we must use this divine power.
Today guard your heart by controlling your thoughts through the Spirit, and not from the world. Capture every thought that is not pleasing to the Lord, and change it to make it obedient. Take power over your thoughts.
Prayer: Guide my thoughts today and help me to replace any sinful thoughts. In Jesus name, Amen