Move Now in My Heart

Hey, my friend. Have you ever prayed a prayer… and then realized you weren’t entirely sure you wanted God to answer it?

Not because you don’t trust Him. Not because you don’t love Him. But because deep down, you suspect His answer might change more than you expected.

Lately, I’ve been sitting with a very short prayer that keeps doing that to me. It’s simple. Just a few lines. But the more I pray it, the more I realize how much surrender it contains.

I’ve really come to enjoy the liturgies of the moment listed in the Every Moment Holy series of prayer books (affiliate link). And there’s one I shared at the conference in March that I wanted to explore a bit deeper with you today.

If you’re not familiar with the liturgies of the moment, they are simple, one-sentence prayers for when you observe or notice something. For example, when you hear a siren, when you hear a bird singing, or when you see rain falling outside your window.

This one is a liturgy—or prayer—for when you see a tree swaying in the wind.

Go ahead and picture that in your mind. What’s your favorite tree? Perhaps you have one in your yard that you like to sit under or watch from your window. Imagine the wind pushing the leaves, making them move around—left to right, up and down.

Do you have that picture in your mind? Here’s the prayer:

O Spirit of God
who moves in
mystery unseen,
so move now
in my heart.

Let me read that again:

O Spirit of God
who moves in
mystery unseen,
so move now
in my heart.

Invitation for God to Move

Let’s talk about what that means, because it’s a beautiful idea, isn’t it?

As we witness the wind—which is invisible in and of itself—move and change things around us in nature, we can acknowledge that God, too, is often invisible, hard to see. Yet He still has the power to effect change and transformation in powerful ways.

He can take a hard heart and soften it.
He can take a proud person and make them humble.
He can take someone who is addicted and set them free.
He can take a thief and give them a generous heart.

When we talk about God moving in our hearts, it often points us toward repentance, confession, healing, surrender—even new life and renewed passion.

And maybe before we go any further, it’s worth pausing to remember the ways He’s already done that in your life.

How has God changed things in your heart and life?

What has He softened?
What has He healed?
What has He freed you from?

Go ahead and name those things now. Write them down if you can.

Because it’s one thing to know that God can change things. It’s another thing entirely to invite Him to do so. To recognize something in yourself that needs transformation and say, “Yes, Lord. Come do Your work here too.”

When the Wind is Strong

I’ve had plenty of opportunities to pray this liturgy in recent weeks as the summer breeze makes the leaves sway gently. It reminds me of how gentle God often is when He is transforming us and making our hearts more like His.

But it’s another thing altogether to pray that prayer when the winds are blowing strong.

When I was at the conference, the wind was strong enough that it was literally tipping over semis. We even drove by one on the way to the church.

And as we did, I felt God gently ask me: “What if I want to do that to your heart too? What if I need to do a clean sweep? A deep work? Are you willing to let Me do that? Would you still pray this prayer?”

And that, my friend, gave me pause. Because while I wanted to have an immediate yes, I also wanted to be honest.

Am I actually willing for God to do that kind of work in me?

Even when others don’t understand?
Even when it changes big things about my life?
Even when surrender feels costly?

Am I up for that kind of surrender?

O Spirit of God
who moves in
mystery unseen,
so move now
in my heart.

Wreck me.
Change me.
All I have is Yours.

Journal Prompts

Here are a few journal prompts you can sit with if you want to linger in this prayer a little longer.

• What kind of “change” from God feels comforting to you? What kind feels unsettling?
• Is there an area of your life where you sense God inviting deeper surrender?
• What fears come up when you imagine God doing a deep work in your heart?
• Where have you already seen evidence of God transforming you over time?
• If you fully trusted God’s goodness, what would you stop resisting?
• Write this prayer in your own words.

Prayer

Lord, You see the places in us that are tender, resistant, fearful, and unfinished. You know the parts of our hearts we gladly offer to You and the parts we quietly hold back. Thank You that You are gentle with us. Thank You that You never stop forming us into people who look more like You. Give us courage to welcome Your work in our hearts—even when it is uncomfortable, even when it changes us more than we expected. O Spirit of God, who moves in mystery unseen, so move now in our hearts.

RELATED EPISODES:

• Episode 170: 2 Ways to Journal When You Can’t Find the Words
• Episode 184: Could This Be Why You’re Not Hearing from God?
• Episode 194: When God Gives Invitations Instead of Answers