“Guard over your heart with all diligence for from it flow all the issues of life.” – Prov 4:23
If Prov 4:23 is vital, then how do I take care of my heart… how do I feed it? How do I keep it full?
Feeding my heart requires more than just ingesting knowledge. Simply acquiring Bible knowledge by
reading the Bible, isn’t sufficient to nourish my heart. My brain is an amazing cognitive processor of knowledge and the place where the data is stored. Knowledge is food for my brain. But while knowledge may help me make rational and sound decisions, it’s still just an ‘earth-type’ commodity that my mind insatiably never gets enough of.
So what is heart food?
“Man can’t live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Matt 4:4)
We’ve talked about how our hearts need to hear our Father’s voice. When we hear Father’s voice, His voice gives us spirit food… real food that satisfies our basic essence. It’s an ethereal infusion so deep that it may not even register in our brain… but our heart knows quite well that something substantive and eternal just happened. We’re washed, freed, envisioned, secured, empowered, emboldened when we hear His voice. There is no mistaking the occasion, something significant changes when we hear His voice.
Now the way in which we hear will be somewhat different for every person.
For most people, our hearts get tender when we encounter our Maker/Father. When we recognize the sound of His voice… or the gentleness of His touch… something begins to melt inside of us. That ‘melting’ is our heart/spirit-man saying, “Abba/Daddy”. There is a sensing of, “all is well with my soul”. There is an, “ahhhh, life is better now”. And many times there are accompanying tears. They’re not mandatory or even necessary, but His voice/touch is so totally fulfilling and life-giving, that our spirit-man ‘leaps’ into life and has to spill over somewhere… more often than not, it’s through our eyes. I write more about the importance and significance of tears, here.
So how do I feed my heart and keep it full? This is one of my ways: I have created a 50-60 song special playlist. They’re only the songs that ‘make me cry’. And I don’t mind saying, I have some of my best times with my playlist. I burn these handpicked songs on CDs and play them over and over in my car. I almost never listen to radio… even Christian radio… my heart’s well-being is too important! These songs speak my heart language and draw me into unhindered encounter. This gives me much time to practice His presence and refuel my heart.
So, I offer you a few songs from my current list, in hopes that your spirit-man will leap into life… and maybe ‘spill over’. Grab a Kleenex and just be careful if you drive while listening to these heart songs.
Mark’s Latest Heart Therapy Songs
1. I Love You – Misty Edwards (IHOP-KC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHlliA_Ui2o
2. Not on My Time – David Brymer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGkvesSczGs
3. Father – Alberto & Kimberly Rivera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEx7_C3X7s0
4. Heaven’s Blessing – Alberto & Kimberly Rivera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y-7lhYHvoE
5. My Garden – Alberto & Kimberly Rivera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDxCvJz3PPU
6. Spirit Move – WorshipMob
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbWddN7r8Qk
— MLH
Mark Hendrickson
Beyond the Map 