A Prayer for New-Heart Softness
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:25-27
Dear Father, we praise you for how much of this great New Covenant promise has already been fulfilled with the work of Jesus. Already we have experienced the greatest of all sprinklings-the once and for all cleansing by the blood of Jesus. Though still sucker-punched by the condemning work of Satan, we praise you that all of our impurities and idolatries have been perfectly forgiven.
Now declared completely righteous in your sight forever, we yearn for the complete righting of our yet-to-be perfected hearts. The promised new heart beats within our chests, but we long for the Day when it will only feel, think and choose with the beauty and for the glory of Jesus.
By the work of your indwelling Spirit, bring forth more softness of heart, further dispelling all hardness of heart. Jesus, we want to be more restful and less resentful. We want to be more merciful and less mercenary. We want to gossip the gospel more, and gossip gossip less.
We want to forgive from the heart and not just avoid the pain of conflict. We want to encourage people for their good, not flatter them for our benefit. We want to see what you see in others, and not obsess over what we want for others. We want to feel joy and hope every time we hear your name, and not feel rejection and contempt when we don’t hear our names. Thank you Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that to long for these things is not to hope in vain. All for your glory. Amen