A new heart also will I give you.
“A Change of Heart”
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you . . .” (Ezekiel 36:26).
Although the exact origins of the celebration of Valentine’s Day are somewhat unclear, the holiday has gained popularity throughout the centuries. It wasn’t until the 1840s that Valentine’s Day cards began to be produced with expressions focusing on the heart. However, before then, in the Old Testament, God relayed His own expressions regarding the heart.
The first medical heart transplant was performed in 1967; however, God’s promise of a spiritual heart transplant was made more than two-and-a-half thousand years ago, as written in Ezekiel 36:26.
The word heart does not just represent the organ in your body that keeps blood flowing while performing other functions, but biblicallyspeaking, the heart is the core of your being and the seat of your emotional and intellectual state. Sometimes the words heart and spirit are used interchangeably. The heart is also associated to the whole inner man. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
Unlike never before, we need a heart for prayer. We need a spiritual heart transplant. With a new heart and God’s Spirit within us, we will have a deeper and genuine relationship with Him. Jesus died for us so that He could be our heart donor and so that we might have life.
I am reminded of the story of Michael Brady, who was a stuntman for Universal Studios, specializing in skydiving. Michael attempted to parachute onto the top of a moving train. Climbing up the ladder on the side of the train to check some rigging, he accidentally fell, hitting his head and dying instantly. Michael’s heart was placed inside the body of Bill Wohl, who had been kept alive for the previous 159 daysby a temporary, artificial heart. Six months and one day after getting a new heart, Bill received a letter from Michael’s family with a picture of Michael enclosed. Bill was surprised to find that he had the heart of a thirty-six-year-old Hollywood stuntman.
“I looked at this picture,” Bill said, “at this incredibly good-looking, super-fit, super athletic guy, and I thought, ‘Are you kidding me? That’swhose heart I’ve got?” Before his heart transplant, Bill had been a Type-A, overweight, money-obsessed businessman pursuing a jet-setter lifestyle. Today, he works part-time, spending most of his newfound energy winning speed and performance medals in swimming, cycling, and track.
Bill had a change of heart. Truly, a new heart changed him! Do you need a change of heart today? Don’t be cold-hearted or even half-hearted. Have a heart from God. Have a heart for God. By doing so, you will want to pray more and have a closer relationship with Him. God has a heart (change) for you, so you can have a heart (passion) for Him! For this is “the heart of the matter!” So, have “a change of heart.” Ultimately, you’ll be glad that you did!
Flo Shaw
Director
World Network of Prayer
(From Prayer Connect Newsletter)
