Psalm 17:3
You have tried my heart; You have visited me in the night. You have tested me and found no evil; I have resolved not to sin with my mouth.
*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 974
Tried: examine, test, prove
From the Hebrew word 'bachan' (pronounced baw-khan').
In the night watches, The LORD tries His people. He tests our hearts to see if we are ready to do His will, to serve Him, to work for Him.
How does He visit His people? In prayer. We must be awake to pray with our LORD. We must be conscious and meet Him on a heart to heart level. For the LORD looks on the heart, not the mind or the face (1 Samuel 16:7; Luke 16:15). (Psalm 42:8). In meditation on His Word (Psalm 77:6). The LORD searches our hearts (Proverbs 20:27; Jeremiah 17:10; 1 Chronicles 28:9; Acts 1:24).
A CLEAN HEART IS CREATED BY GOD
Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalm 32:1
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered!
Matthew 6:12
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
A CLEAN HEART IS A FORGIVEN HEART
Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool."
Isaiah 42:35
"I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more."
A CLEAN HEART IS A MALLEABLE HEART
Ezekiel 36:26
"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh."
John 3:5
"Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit."
A CLEAN HEART IS A PURE HEART
Matthew 5:8
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
When God cleans our hearts, it is not merely that our slates are wiped clean, but that we may be useful vessels for God. When we let Him, God decides how best we may serve Him.
We have several vases atop our hutch. We do not use most of them and one of these days some of them will become garden decorations. But for now, they are in a waiting period. Like some of us: we offer ourselves to God, then wonder why we aren't doing some great deed for Him.
While we think we are just sitting on the shelf, God is testing us, proving our hearts to be His. The Spirit searches all things (1 Corinthians 2:10). If our hearts truly belong to God, then God knows that we are His people. And He wants us to be ready. Even if our readiness includes sitting on a shelf.
The LORD hears our cries (Psalm 61:1; Psalm 130:1-4).
Psalm 27:7
"Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him."
O LORD, make us clean. We repent of the wickedness of our hearts, of our transgressions against Your Word, of the sins we have committed. You say to me, when I have awakened, 'Wash you, make you clean before you begin your work'. And every morning I wash my face and make me clean.
But You, O LORD, desire a clean heart and a renewed spirit. These things only You can do, LORD, but I must ask You to do so. For I know You want to be asked, that You are not a controlling God, but a loving God, Who wants only what is right for us. You have given us free will, the conscious ability to choose right from wrong, to make decisions for ourselves.
Forgive me, LORD, for I do so want to be found in Your good graces. So, try my heart: test me, prove me; examine me according to Your Word, Your Will and Your Way. Remove anything not good in me and replace it with the better thing You have for me.
You are the God of my life and I want no other.
In Jesus' Name, I pray,
Amen.
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