Proverbs 27:17
Thursday, February 19, 2026
This Teaching Clip made me think of you. Watch THURSDAY NIGHT PRAYERS - LECTIO 365 by 24-7 Prayer:
This Teaching Clip made me think of you. Watch THURSDAY NIGHT PRAYERS - LECTIO 365 by 24-7 Prayer:
A Heart Transformed
A Heart Transformed
Behavior modification says, “I can change because of what I do,” while a heart transformation says, “I am changed because of what Jesus has done.” Putting on something new usually requires us to remove something else first. But this exchange between our old sinful life and our new Christian life can’t happen through our own desire to change. We can only change when we understand whose we are and who we are: God’s chosen ones, adopted and redeemed to new life in Jesus Christ.
With this knowledge we can move forward with compassion for the people around us, with confidence because God has adopted us, and with peace because we know God is in control. We walk in love, not in order to obtain salvation, but because He has already clothed us in it. We are free to love when it is hard, free to deny ourselves when the world tells us to take what we want, and free to forgive when we have been hurt and wronged. Through our own behavior modification, we are unable to truly change; but when the Lord transforms our hearts, the victory is already won. We are free.
Why It Matters What do you do when you pour out your heart to silence, to a brick wall? While it may feel like we are doing just that, the very fact that God still hears our voices and knows our hearts is amazing. And when we want answers to our troubles, sometimes sitting in the silence of God’s apparent absence is the closest to God we can feel.
Why It Matters
What do you do when you pour out your heart to silence, to a brick wall? While it may feel like we are doing just that, the very fact that God still hears our voices and knows our hearts is amazing. And when we want answers to our troubles, sometimes sitting in the silence of God’s apparent absence is the closest to God we can feel.
Prayer in the Midst of God’s Silence
Prayer in the Midst of God’s Silence
Written by Steven Wierenga
This last year is about as close to Job’s life as my story’s been so far. My wife and I uprooted our lives in Colorado, moved back to Michigan, had a car die, and lost a close friend in an accident, all the while working three jobs to stave off rising costs of living. Our prayers of establishing normalcy and a semblance of routine have seemingly gone unheard.
We aren’t the only ones disappointed when God seems silent. The psalmist cries out from frustration, from a place of abandonment. Their friends have shunned them, and they’re not even sure God is listening– they might as well be talking to themself. Whatever the source of the psalmist’s pain, they believe God to be the main instigator.
The human will to press on in dire circumstances is impressive but, done without God, only leads to burnout and indifference. There can even be a sick solace in despair: surely no one else has it as hard as me!
Human attempts to numb our sorrow will lead to any number of dismal conclusions. The prayer of lament – like in Psalm 88 – is the healthiest (but hardest) way of coping with pain and grief. God searches our hearts and minds (Jer. 17:10); He knows our hurts and struggles. Bringing our pain to him is an acknowledgment of our frailty, our hurt, and our need for help.
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