The Wellspring of Life

"In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart."

I have been reading Sacred Romance by John Eldridge as my devotional and have been inspired to journal about what I’m learning. This quote I found today lends itself perfectly to the lesson.

The more I read, the more I realize just how true it is that most Christians have lost heart when it comes to our spiritual lives. We go through the motions of church, praying, service, tithing, but are our hearts close to the Lord? Are we living a love relationship with him? Are we living it with passion and intimacy with all the fullness that He purposed for us?

I have had to do a major spiritual inventory as to what level my heart is engaged in my relationship with the Lord. I am reminded of the verse “these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Mark 7:5-7 God forbid (literally) that I be that person although more and more I find myself scheduling in time with the Lord on my calendar like just another “to do” to check off. It is a chore and not a pleasure, an obligation and not a joy. How sad it is because out of the heart stems a “well-spring” of life, which the Bible tells us in Proverbs 4:23. When we disconnect our hearts and replace them with head knowledge, we become thirsty, desolate and unfruitful, like a spring that’s run dry.

I think this quote applies to more than just our prayer lives. Our hearts can express themselves through our actions that should be indicative of our inner prayer lives…through loving others, showing peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self control. Instead of just talking about these things, we should emulate them in our examples. What a huge challenge for the week!