I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within
you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a
heart of flesh. (Ezek. 36:26 HCSB)Don’t read that last one too quickly, OK? One more time.
Slowly. Deliberately. Like how you’d sip a glass of sweet tea on
a blazing hot summer day, wanting the refreshment to last.
Do you see the promise? “I will give you.” “I will remove
your heart of stone” and “give you” a heart that’s alive and
tender again, one that’s beating and responsive again.
Engaged again. Able to believe again.
A prayer that’s seeking passion should not be about
manufacturing a better feeling or jostling up a better mood. It’s
simply about holding out your open hands—in thanksgiving
first, in gratitude for God’s faithfulness and His goodness and
His assured, accomplished victory over the enemy. Then
asking. Asking for what He already wants to give you. Then
waiting (expecting) to receive the promise of newness and
freshness from His Spirit as you go along, more each day—
praying until, as the prophet Hosea said...