Recently my prayer has been, "Lord give me a pure spirit, a pure heart."
Do you ever wake up at night, and a thought or prayer pops into your head? Like many of a certain age, sleep for me is rarely uninterrupted. I have learned to use this time for prayer. When I woke up, "Lord, give me a pure spirit" popped into my mind. I knew that, by morning, I would forget my middle-of-the-night prayer, so I wrote down this random thought God put on my heart and continued my prayers. Eventually, I fell asleep. In the morning, blurry-eyed and stretching as I woke up, I saw the phrase scribbled on my notepad: "Lord, give me a pure spirit." Simple. I wasn't sure why that prayer came into my thoughts, but it was there, and I tucked it away for another day.
THE CRY OF THEIR HEARTS
A week later, I experienced a special event that brought the prayer to the forefront of my mind. It was a Sunday morning children's program, typical in most churches, but that day it felt different as I observed the purity of heart in the little children as they sang for us. I love these sweet times watching the second and third graders who have practiced and practiced. Now they are standing before the church, with eyes glued to their teacher, who is mouthing the words. They stand up straight, forgetting to smile because they don't want to sing the wrong words.
Except there is always one child who knows every word, every verse, and every move. This child has waited anxiously for this day, to sing his little heart out for Jesus. He is totally into the performance and belts out the words. Singing with abandon, the little boy threw his whole body into the song. His sandy, barely combed, tousled hair flopped up and down, arms swooping from right to left as he imagined following Jesus. The song was "The Cry of my Heart." You probably know this song written by Terry Butler:
Teach me your holy ways, Oh Lord
Make me wholly devoted to you
It is the cry of my heart
It is the cry of my heart
It is the cry of my heart to follow you
It is the cry of my heart to be close to you
It is the cry of my heart to follow you
All of the days of my life.
He was pure of spirit and pure of heart. Then I understood my prayer. "Lord, give me a pure spirit." I want to be like this child, wholly devoted to Jesus. This is the cry of my heart.
After the children sang, it was time to present the third graders with their first Bible. Our pastor passed the Bibles out one by one. Each child responded politely, "Thank you," until the second to last little girl. Dressed in her Sunday finest, a white frilly dress and little black Mary Jane shoes, she took her Bible, opened it, inspected it, and pressed it to her heart. She received it joyfully, and as the precious, sacred gift it is: God's word. She held on so tightly, occasionally opening it up again, touching it, and returning it to her heart as she left for Sunday school. When she returned to the sanctuary for the benediction, she was still holding her Bible tightly against her chest. Again came my prayer and the cry of my heart, "Oh Lord, give me a pure spirit, like these little children.”
COME LIKE A LITTLE CHILD
God desires us to come as little children with a pure spirit and a heart wholly devoted to Him. In Ps. 119:11, David says, "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I may not sin against you."
In this tender moment at church with the children, God reminded me of the story in Mark 10:13–16.
People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
Sometimes I forget to see myself as God's child. I come to Him as an adult with all the answers. I forget the endearing names Jesus uses to refer to you and me: My little child, My little flock, My beloved, My friend, My son, My daughter.
Jesus values us. The cry of His heart is for us to be close to Him, to be in Him as He is in the Father, to be one with Him.
WHERE IS YOUR HEART?
What is the cry of your heart today? Maybe you don't know or can't express your heart's cry in words. Yet you know there is an undefined longing, an internal need. Today is your opportunity. Ask the Lord to define the hunger, the cry of your unique heart. Imagine yourself climbing into the arms of Jesus as a little child and Jesus blessing you. Be enveloped by His love, assurance, and tender mercy. Imagine Jesus whispering to you, "Blessed are you, the poor in spirit, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you with the pure heart, for you will see God. Blessed are you who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for you will be filled" (Matt. 5:3,8,6 personal paraphrase). These are precious promises.
I hope you will allow yourself to come as His little child today. Let Ps. 46:10 sink in: "Be still, and know that I am God." Let Him comfort you if you need comfort. Let Him reassure you if you need reassurance. Rest in His arms and be refreshed.
