Back to the Altar — Worship Keeps the Mind

Heart of the Matter

The unregenerate human heart is something to behold. If you watch the news from day to day, you will see human beings acting in ways that make us question their humanity. Wonderful acts of love and kindness happen around the globe each moment of the day, but there is no doubt that evil is likewise manifested wherever we look. While we rightly obsess about unending wars, political corruption, and senseless violence on a mass scale, we must also acknowledge that wherever dastardly deeds are done, deranged human hearts are at work.

Quite frankly, the Bible does not have much good to say about human hearts that are un-surrendered to Jesus Christ. God states, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). The heart to which God refers here is not so much the “ticker” in our chest but our “brain heart”—the seat of our thinking, the center of our intellectual and moral being, the fount from whence our desires flow. Jesus made the point even clearer when He observed, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

With the Mind We Worship

Ellen White wrote the following about the importance of the human mind: “The mind controls the whole man. All our actions, good or bad, have their source in the mind. It is the mind that worships God and allies us to heavenly beings” (Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 1, p. 72). It is the mind that God seeks to enlist in the Battle against self and evil. Commenting on the power of the Bible to educate and strengthen the mind, Ellen White also observed, “Nothing will so impart vigor to all the faculties as requiring students to grasp the stupendous truths of revelation. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 24). What a blessing it is to know that our minds can be reshaped by God’s healing Word!

Keep Thy Heart

Human minds must be kept, tended, and guarded, as Solomon encouraged in Proverbs 4:23. Like King David we must ask God to create in us clean hearts and minds (Psalm 51:10), but we must guard this gift with all diligence. Regular seasons of personal time spent in praise, prayer, Bible study, and witnessing will do more to guard our minds in Christ Jesus than anything else we can do each day: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). Keep your mind, even when everyone else is losing theirs.

Let’s talk to our God.

Prayer Time (30–45 Minutes)

Praying God’s Word — Proverbs 4:23

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

“Keep Your Heart”

Jesus, in this world of distractions and the constant bombardment of information, we struggle to focus on You. We recognize our total dependance upon You and ask You to enable us to keep our hearts. Help us to make the right choices every day to keep ourselves pure from the attacks of the evil one. Amen.

“With All Diligence”

Precious Savior, thank You for Your commitment to us. Thank You for exemplifying what true love and commitment look like. You know how we at times lack proper commitment to You and Your cause. And we are so quick to teach others, while not taking to heart our own lessons. Forgive our hypocrisy and guide us into a life of diligent faithfulness. Amen.

“Out of It Spring the Issues of Life”

God, we often forget how precious, delicate, and important our heart is, and so we mistreat it by allowing certain influences into our lives. We may not realize how all things shape who we are and what we believe about You. Teach us to be on guard and to allow only holy influences in our lives. You enter in, Lord, and live out Your life within us. Amen.

More Prayer Suggestions

Thanks and Praise: Give thanks for specific blessings and praise God for His goodness.

Confession: Take a few minutes for private confession and thank God for His forgiveness.

Guidance: Ask God to grant wisdom for current challenges and decisions.

Our Church: Pray for regional and world church needs (see separate sheet with requests).

Local Requests: Pray for current needs of church members, family, and neighbors.

Listen and Respond: Take time to listen for God’s voice and respond in praise or song.

Song Suggestions

SDA Hymnal: I’d Rather Have Jesus (#327); I Would Be Like Jesus (#311); Take Time to Be Holy (#500)

Other Songs: Seek Ye First; Create in Me a Clean Heart; All in All

Published by the General Conference Ministerial Association
Daily Readings by Pr. Dwain Esmond