by Joyce Meyer - posted
June 28, 2013
Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and
above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.
—Proverbs 4:23
Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but
in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite
requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And
God’s peace . . .which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount
guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 4:6–7
I like to connect the verse from Proverbs with
Paul’s words to the Philippians. We read that God tells us to guard our
hearts—to watch over them carefully. But what does that really mean? It means
to be alert or watchful about the ways of the enemy. It’s easy to become
careless about guarding our hearts and being alert to Satan’s subtle tactics
when things are going our way and God is pouring out His blessings on our
lives.
All of us face struggles from time to time, but
when we diligently stand guard over our hearts, we become more aware that God’s
plan is for us to overcome.
Instead of using the word guard, I like to think of
it this way: We need to post a sentinel around our hearts or, as it says above,
“garrison and mount guard.” Think of what a guard or sentinel does—he’s on
duty. He watches for the enemy to attack. He’s not just ready; he’s actively
watchful and prepared to resist all attacks from the enemy.
That’s how we need to live—with a trustworthy
sentinel. It doesn’t mean we live in fear or constantly have to check to see if
the devil is sneaking around. Think of it more as posting a sentinel to do that
for us.
What kind of sentinel do we need? I think of the
two most obvious ones: prayer and the Word of God. If we pray for God’s Holy
Spirit to guard our hearts, He will honor that request. When the enemy creeps
up, the sentinel calls out, “Thus saith the Lord,” and the enemy flees. (The
devil really is a coward and won’t openly fight us.)
Read Paul’s words again. If we push away our
anxieties (which we do by prayer and supplication) and fill our heart with
thanksgiving, God’s peace stands guard over us. God helps us resist any charge
of the enemy.
We also must not minimize thanksgiving. That’s such
a simple way to keep ourselves alert to Satan’s devices. As we give thanks to
God through our words and our songs, we are guarding our hearts. As the old
hymn says: “Count your blessings—name them one by one; count your many
blessings—see what God has done.”
It’s more than just singing a few words, however—it
is actually pausing on purpose to remember all the good things that God has
done in our lives. As we rejoice over past blessings, we open ourselves to more
blessings in the future.
Another ally we sometimes overlook is other
believers. When we’re aware of our weaknesses, we can agree in prayer with
other believers. We can ask them to pray specifically that we won’t be misled
or attacked by the enemy when we’re not as alert as we should be. Other
believers can intercede for us—just as we can for them. What better guards can
we post than those who cry out to God on behalf of others? The devil doesn’t
like hearing such prayers.
Holy Spirit, I ask You to help me be alert against
any attack of the enemy by posting the sentinels of prayer and Your Word at the
door of my heart. I praise You for showing me how to guard my heart, and pray
that I will have a continuously thankful heart. Amen.
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