Prayer To Not Only Protect Others With Masks But Also With A Clean Heart

The understanding of how masks help in this pandemic has changed over time.  Now we all are not just encouraged to wear a cloth mask but to wear a 3-ply one with a filter in the middle or wear a surgical mask under a cloth mask.  The stats seem pretty good for keeping virus droplets away from one another when we do this.  I know when I first started wearing a mask it was with the understanding that it was more about keeping my own germs away from being spread to others than it was about protecting me.  So, I do my best to stay home as much as possible, maintain physical distancing when I’m out, and get the mask on as soon as I leave the door or my apartment.

This all came to mind for me this morning when I read that bit of teaching Jesus gave us about what comes out of us is more the problem of our life than what we take in.  Let me read just a few of those verses for us:

Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.  Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” … He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”  Mark 7:14-15, 18-23: 

While it is good that we take the time to do all that our health officials are asking of us to contain the spread of the covid-19 virus, I think today I’m also asking God what action I need to be taking to make sure that I’m not spreading other ugly things from my own heart.  Always when I read a list like this one:  sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly – I can quickly stroke off quite a few from the list.  But equally quickly I bump into things that are still too much a part of my journey.  It bugs me that murder and folly are on the same list and considered equally awful in God’s eyes or that adultery and envy are both there, sexual immorality and arrogance.  I mean, take your pick, we all have poison in us that God needs to cleanse out of us so we don’t become a super spreader to everyone we meet in every set of circumstances we enter into.

That’s where we come to pray today, that God will come and give us the humility to see ourselves as He sees us – beloved but broken.  Every day we need to allow the Holy Spirit to shine the light of His truth into our hearts and sort out what is dark and what is light.  He doesn’t do it to condemn us but rather to call us to repentance and life.  Will we allow ourselves to be called to life today?  Let’s pray:

Loving God, we are so quick to look at the sin and the ways others infect our lives.  It’s easy to blame this person or that set of circumstances with what we are experiencing and yet You reaffirm to us today that the most important things that are going on in our lives today are those that are coming from our own hearts.  You have the answer to what we need so our hearts can be pure and clean and not bring harm to others but we need the humility to come to You for Your cleansing and to learn new ways from You.

Forgive us for the stupid thinking that says that the things that are wrong with us don’t harm anyone else. Lord, whether we think unkind thoughts or hide away from others in our irritations or fears, we are not living fully as the people You created to be when the things of our hearts keep us apart. 

We may not be acting in sexually immoral ways but we put our eyes on so many things that are evil in that regard just with some of the television programs we watch and some of the music we listen to.  We allow ourselves to be entertained with sinful words and actions that infect our minds and hearts and draw us away from You.  Forgive us Father, and help us to make adjustments to keep ourselves pure before You.

We may not be those who pick up a gun or a knife to harm or murder someone but You know the angry resentful condemning thoughts we’ve held towards others and their actions – sometimes those close to us and just sometimes those we are hearing about on the media – those in a different political party or those who don’t seem to care about our lot in life who have power to do something about what we are experiencing.  We are a people who too easily hate others.  Lord, there are lots of people who even understand things in a way that seems wrong to us and going against Your word but we are not given permission by You to hate them and we too easily can do that.  Help us to see truth as You name truth but to always love and care for the souls of others regardless of how difficult their actions may be. 

We all think we need more than we do in comparison to what others have and we need that envy and greed weeded out of our hearts as well.  So many others with so much less than what we have today are giving thanks to You and blessing You for Your goodness in their lives. Forgive us Lord and help us to get a more balanced view of life and our place in it.  Help us to give generously and to look first with gratitude rather than allowing greed and envy to distort our desires and actions.

Most of all, keep our thoughts of where change needs to happen first right on ourselves so we humbly and regularly come to You for what we need.  We end today Lord with that wonderful Prayer for Purity prayed in so many churches.

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open and all desires known.  Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You and worthily magnify Your Holy name, through Christ our Lord.  Amen

The good news is that when we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us and to purify us from all unrighteousness.  So, let’s repent often and keep ourselves as clean as we can as we go through this day so we don’t spread the uncleanness of sinful hearts to others.  The blood of Jesus is available moment by moment to cleanse and the Holy Spirit is ready and waiting to point out to us any ways that we offend the ways of God.  With great kindness God is drawing us up out of this stuff to a place of peace and purity.  I want to live there today, don’t you?