I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)
In my last blog, Love One Another, I ended by asking you the question “Where is your heart?”
Why did the Apostle Paul pray for the eyes of your heart to be enlightened? Why is it important to have the right heart?
The heart of the believer is central to our walk with Jesus. Our heart is also important in our relationships with others, especially with sisters and brothers in Christ. Only with the right heart, can we “love one another deeply from our hearts.” (1 Peter 1:22)
The Apostle Paul also prayed this prayer in Ephesians 3:16-19
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Your heart is how the Holy Spirit leads you and guides you!
Your heart is where you are strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit (your inner being).
Your heart is the place where Christ dwells through faith.
Your heart is where you are rooted and established in Christ’s love.
Your heart is where you have power to grasp the depth of that love, and to know that love that surpasses knowledge.
Your heart is where you can be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God!
But what if you don’t have the right heart?
Jesus himself says in Matthew 13:15
For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’
In Mark 7:6
“Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:“‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules”.
Romans 10:9-10 show us that it all begins with your heart.
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Can you understand the importance of seeing with the eyes of your heart? Can you “see” the importance of guarding your heart, above all else? (Proverbs 4:23)