A HEART
Prov. 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of
life.
Give me a heart, dear heavenly Father,
a heart that’s free of all self-will,
a heart obedient to thy counsel,
that gladly thy commands fulfills.
Give me a heart
prepared to practice
true self-denial
at any time,
a heart that loves
its enemies,
assured of glories
yet to come.
Give me a heart of
sympathy
for every person
mired in sin,
that guides them
toward the Father’s land,
embraces them, and
takes them in.
Give me a heart
that hankers not
for worldly
pleasures, selfish ends,
a heart that loves
the poor, and so
forgets itself, a
hand to lend.
Give me a heart
that pays no heed
to threats or
scorn or ridicule,
that keeps faith
always with its God,
though blamed,
despised, or called a fool.
A heart like
thine, that lives for God –
would such a heart
be given to me!
O Jesus, take me
and all my gifts:
I’ll find this heart alone in thee.
Poem: A Heart, By Eberhard Arnold