Tune My Heart
Psalm 125:4 “O LORD, do good to those who are good, whose hearts are in tune with you.” (NLT)
Have you ever watched musicians play their instruments? I mean, really watched them? They start by tuning their instruments, individually, and then together. Why? So the sound they produce is in harmony with one another and is a proper representation of the song. The ‘first chair’ will play a note and then all of the other instruments align their sound with that one to ensure they’re all on key- they’re all adjusted to the standard to ensure they produce a correct and pleasant sound.
But sometimes, instruments require more than just one tuning. If you’ve ever watched a band play bluegrass music you know the songs are often fast and the fretwork on the banjo, guitar and fiddle is intricate. The instruments are played with skill, finesse and very, very quickly. The stress can loosen the strings and begin to change the sound the instrument produces. The musician is always listening and attentive to whether the sound and ‘fruit’ of the instrument is correctly representing the notes and harmonizing with the other instruments. It requires a good ear and knowledge of pitch, otherwise the tuning can actually make the sound worse.
Tuning becomes a continuous effort, otherwise the instrument begins to sound ‘off’ and doesn’t harmonize well with the others. It begins to play its own tune, rather than what was written. So, every so often during the performance, the musicians will take a moment to adjust their instrument, tuning it so that it stays on key and produces a beautiful, pleasing sound. An instrument out of tune is a poor representation of what the composer intended and becomes a distraction and an offense to the ears.
This is such a picture of our spiritual walk. Walking with Jesus isn’t a ‘one and done’ moment. It needs to be a daily checking of our heart and mind to ensure we’re in tune with HIm and His Word- aligning our heart to what He asks of us and ensuring that our thoughts and desires are reflecting His truth and submitted to His will, not our own. We need to tune our hearts to the standard God sets for us. If we think we’re ‘in tune’ with the Lord, yet we don’t spend time with Him, we fall out of tune and we become tone deaf and unpleasant to listen to. We don’t hear ourselves and how ‘off’ we’ve become because we’re not listening to the Savior. We’re setting our own standard of “right” and “good” and that’s never right or good.
We need to submit to the work of the Holy Spirit in us, follow good teaching and be intentional to ensure that we are attentive to God’s Word- learning, committing it to memory and living it out. As Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:13-14, “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” Just as the musician guards his instrument, continually ensuring that it’s in tune and working as it should, we need to guard our hearts so that we’re correctly representing Him and aligning our hearts with His instruction in Scripture. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Today, let’s pray that our sons and daughters are not ‘tone deaf’ but that they are constantly listening to the Lord and checking their walk to ensure they’re in tune with Him. There is so much ‘noise’ in our world, noise that drowns out the good that we should hear and that can distract us from recognizing we’re out of tune with the Lord. We can begin singing out of tune and not even recognize it…and if we’re surrounded by others who are out of tune as well, we lose our pitch and our ability to correct and adjust ourselves. We must always, always look to the Savior. He is the only One to whom we should align our lives to ensure we’re walking in tune with Him.
“Father, You put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him. (Psalm 40:3) But, Father, if I’m out of tune with You, my song will be off-putting to others and won’t represent You well. How can I pray for my son or daughter to be in tune with You if I am not? I pray that You would daily help me tune my heart to You. I pray that my life would reflect Psalm 28:7 “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” And I pray for (name) today, help them to see that I long to follow after You with all my heart and that I trust You, no matter what. I pray that the testimony of my life and the song of my heart speak to them with more than just words, but that the life I live would reflect my total surrender to You. Encourage them, inspire them, move in their heart today so that they recognize their heart condition and they ‘hear’ any place that they are off key and out of tune with You. I pray that they would submit to You, Lord, and would allow You to work in them, correct the areas that need to be brought back into Your Lordship and that they would begin to sing a new song, a song of praise to You that would point others to the saving grace of the gospel. Lord, I ask that You- the Master musician- would skillfully take their life, their heart, their mind and their all and would use it to bring glory to Your name. I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.”
Praying without ceasing