Ezekiel 11:19-20 (NIV)
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them. I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
The speed and pace of life has increased in our current culture and society and together with the rise in technology, which enables us to communicate via email, Facebook, twitter, (to name but a few) so too have the distractions and temptations and the pressures on our time. As you consider this, what elements of our contemporary culture/society are you aware of that could both wittingly or unwittingly be impacting your heart and causing it to harden? Which aspects of your lifestyle could contribute to your heart becoming cold and parts of it turning to stone?
Take time to reflect on this by meditating on Ezekiel 11:19 (NIV) Note the thoughts, images, impressions, that arise as you ponder on this verse.
In Joyce Rupp’s poem, Lost and Found (Joyce Rupp, Fresh Bread and other gifts of Spiritual Nourishment Ave Maria Press 2006 p, 42) she describes God’s heart as being like a room full of lost and found things. She invites the reader to look into God’s heart for the things that they have lost such as caring for those who are suffering, thankfulness for life and beauty, faith and hunger for God. She ends her poem with, “help me find the best of what I’ve lost, to discover the values I’ve misplaced and some of the treasures I’ve tossed away.”
Take a few minutes to look into God’s heart to reflect on what you might have lost and then turn these thoughts and your reflections from Ezekiel into prayer.
You may like to end your time of prayer with the following words from Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV)
Search me, O 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.