3 easy ways to ask God to transform your heart

“This is the trust we have before him, which, if we ask for something according to His will, listens to us. And if we know that he listens to us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked him "(1 John 5: 14-15).

As believers, we can ask God for many things without knowing for sure that it is His will. We may ask to provide financially, but it could be His will that we do without some of the things we think we need. We could ask for physical healing, but it could be His will that we go through the trials of the disease, or even that the disease ends with death. We may ask our son to be spared disappointment, but it may be his willingness for them to experience his presence and power as he frees them through it. We may ask to avoid difficulties, persecutions or failures and, again, it may be His will to use these things to hone our character in his likeness.

There are other things, however, that we can know without a doubt that it is God's will and desire for us. One of these is the condition of our heart. God clearly tells us what His will is regarding the transformation of the regenerated human heart, and we would be wise to seek His help. After all, it is a spiritual transformation and will never be accomplished by our natural, human will or ability.

Here are three things we can pray with confidence for our hearts, knowing that we are asking according to His will, and that He listens to us and will grant us our requests.

1. God, give me a demanding heart.
“This is the message that we have heard from him and that we have announced to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have communion with Him and walk in the dark, we lie and do not practice the truth "(1 John 1: 5-6).

I remained silent in the dark watching my granddaughter trying to fall asleep. When I entered her room to calm her tears, it was completely dark, except for the dim light of her "glow in the dark" pacifier, which I quickly located in her crib and gave her. As I stood near the door, my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I discovered that it was not so dark at all. The longer I stayed in the dark room, the brighter and more normal it seemed. It seemed only dark compared to the bright lights of the corridor, just outside the door.

In a very real way, the longer we stay in the world, the more likely it is that our heart's eyes will adjust to darkness and more quickly than we think, we will think we are walking in the light. Our hearts are easily deceived (Jeremiah 17: 9). We must ask God to discern us between good and evil, light and dark. If you don't believe it, try remembering the first time you saw a movie full of swear words, graphic violence or rough sexual humor after becoming a follower of Christ. Your spiritual sense was offended. Is this still true today, or does it simply go unnoticed? Is your heart ready to discern between good and evil or has it become used to darkness?

We also need discernment to know the truth from lies in a world full of the spirit of antichrist. False teachings abound, even in the pulpits of our conservative church. Do you have enough discernment to separate the wheat from the straw?

The human heart needs discernment between good, evil, truth and lies, but there is also a third area that is important, as John recalls in 1 John 1: 8-10. We need discernment to recognize our sin. We are often very good at pointing out the grain in others, while we lack the strain in our eyes (Matthew 7: 3-5). With a demanding heart, we humbly examine ourselves for flaws and failures, knowing our propensity to overestimate our personal justice.

Psalm 119: 66: "Teach me good discernment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments."

Hebrews 5:14: "But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern the good and the bad."

1 John 4: 1: "Beloved, do not believe in every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they come from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

1 John 1: 8: "If we say that we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."

2. God, give me a willing heart.
"By this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments" (1 John 2: 3).

“Then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, resolve your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both for wanting and for working for His good pleasure "(Philippians 2: 12-13).

God not only wants us to obey him, but that we want to obey him, so much so that he himself gives us both the will and the ability to do what he asks us to do. Obedience is important to God because it reveals that our heart has been changed by his inner Spirit. Our previously dead spirits have been brought to life (Ephesians 2: 1-7). Living things show that they are alive, just as a seed planted in the ground begins to appear with new growth, eventually becoming a mature plant. Obedience is the fruit of a regenerated soul.

God does not want us to obey reluctantly or reluctantly, even though he sometimes knows that we will not understand His commands. This is why we need His Spirit to give us a ready heart; our unredeemed flesh will always rebel against God's commands, even as believers. A willing heart is possible only when we give our whole heart to the Lord, without leaving hidden corners or closed places where we are reluctant to give him full access and control. We cannot say to God: “I will obey you in all but this. “Full obedience comes from a completely surrendered heart, and complete surrender is necessary for God to transform our stubborn hearts into a willing heart.

What does a willing heart look like? Jesus gave us the perfect example while praying in the garden of Gethsemane the night before his crucifixion. He had humbly renounced his heavenly glory to be born as a human (Philippians 2: 6-8), had experienced all the temptations of our world, without sinning himself (Hebrews 4:15), and now faced a terrible physical death and separation from the Father while taking our sin (1 Peter 3:18). In all this, His prayer was: "Not as I want, but as you want" (Matthew 26:39). It is a willing heart that comes only from the Spirit of God.

Hebrews 5: 7-9: “In the days of his flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud tears and tears to the One who was able to save him from death, and was listened to for his pity. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. And having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him. "

1 Chronicles 28: 9: “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father and serve him with all your heart and mind available; for the Lord seeks all hearts and understands all intentions of thoughts. "

3. God, give me a loving heart.
"Because this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another" (1 John 3:11).

Love is a distinctive and compelling trait that distinguishes the followers of Christ from the world. Jesus said that the world would know that we are His disciples by the way we love each other as believers (John 13:35). True love can only come from God, because God is love (1 John 4: 7-8). To truly love others is possible only if we ourselves know and experience God's love for us. As we remain in his love, this pours into our relationships both with other believers and with the unsaved (1 John 4:16).

What does it mean to have a loving heart? Is it just a feeling, a discharge of emotion that manifests in us when we see or speak to someone? Is it the ability to show affection? How do we know that God has given us a loving heart?

Jesus taught us that all the commandments of God are summarized in two simple statements: "Love God first with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves" (Luke 10: 26-28). He continued to define how our neighbor seems to love: the greatest love has none of this, what life offers for his friends (John 15:13). Not only did he tell us what love looks like, but he showed it when he chose to abandon his life for ours on the cross, for his love for the Father (John 17:23).

Love is more than a feeling; it is a conviction to act on behalf of and for the benefit of others, even at the expense of self-sacrifice. John tells us that we should not love only in our words, but in works and in truth (1 John 3: 16-18). We see a need and the love of God in us drives us to action.

Do you have a loving heart? Here is the test. When loving others requires you to put aside your desires, preferences or needs, are you willing to do it? Do you see others with the eyes of Christ, recognizing the spiritual poverty that underlies the behavior and choices that make them difficult to love? Are you willing to leave your life so that they too can live?

A demanding heart.

A willing heart.

A loving heart.

Ask God to change the conditions of your heart as needed in these areas. Pray with confidence, knowing that it is his will, that he will listen to you and he will answer.

Philippians 1: 9-10: "And I pray, that your love will abound more and more in real knowledge and in all discernment, so that you may approve the excellent things, to be sincere and irreproachable until the day of Christ."