Dear Heavenly Father,
Regarding Saul, the King of Israel who was handsome, well-built, and tall, You told Samuel in 1Samuel 16:7(NLT), “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Even thousands of years ago, human beings were chiefly concerned with how a person looks rather than what is in a person’s heart. In modern times, it is very common to get caught up in the wrong things, and we are often tricked by the devil this way. We will allow ourselves to be captivated by a person because he or she is very attractive, but on the inside, they may have all kinds of ugliness that we can’t see. You made it very clear that You examine our hearts, because our hearts tell You whether we are truly motivated by Your love or whether we are motivated out of selfishness and our own agendas.
To the prophet, Jeremiah, You said in Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NLT), “9 The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? 10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” You tell us that You search all our hearts, and You know the motives for our conversations, thoughts, deeds, and actions. You also tell us that You reward us based on what our conversations, thoughts, deeds, and actions deserve. We need to know that sometimes when things go wrong, it is because our motive isn’t centered on Your goodness. We’re not thinking about how we can make our relationship with You better; we’re only thinking about our own agenda and what will bring us pleasure.
Please help us to have a change of heart, Dear Father. Help us to want what You want and to desire to please You in the depth of our hearts. Jesus Christ told us in Matthew 5:8(NLT), “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.” Heavenly Father, we want to have hearts that are pure towards You, so we can be in Your presence continually. You tell us not to judge people by outward appearance. We shouldn’t put a good or bad label on people based on how they look. You want us to love everyone, for Your Son has told us Matthew 22:37-39 that the first and great commandment is to love You with all our heart, soul, and mind, and the second is to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
Thank You for helping us to grow in love so that our conversations, thoughts, deeds, and actions are motivated out of a desire to honor You through the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to walk in the Spirit so that he can produce his fruit in us. Please help us to let Your love be our motivation so we can be pleasing in Your sight. Thank You for blessing us continually, as we trust You with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength. Thank You for our powerful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and for Your precious Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Motivated by God’s Love”, written by K. Lizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.