Mental Prayer for July 24 - "Blessed Are the Pure of Heart"

Mental Prayer Meditation Helps

Presence of God.

Grace I Ask: To learn what a pure heart is.

The Idea: "... for they shall see God." A sign advertising 100% pure coffee means that nothing has been mixed in; it's all coffee. "Pure" means "unmixed." And "heart" includes, be­sides our feelings, also our desires and will. Combine "pure" with "heart" and you get "de­sires that are not all mixed up."

One whose desires are confused, mixed up, doesn't really know what he wants. There was a high school grad who decided to become an engineer. But in addition to an engineering degree he wanted a full sport's life, a full social life - a full life of just everything! His heart and its desires were mixed up. He failed in engineering school. He had been side-tracked from his main purpose.

The young person with a pure heart is he or she whose whole life is aimed straight at the goal, the main purpose of life: the service and love of God. And the reward: the vision of God!

My Personal Application: Here's a good test for my own purity of heart. How often today did I think about God? How often did I consider what He would think of my actions? If my thoughts, desires, and plans had no relation to God, my main goal in life, then my heart is confused, mixed up. The more I can focus my life on God, the purer will be my heart.

I Speak to Christ: I begin to see the usefulness of the Morning Offering prayer, Lord. I need something like that to keep my heart directed on my goal.

Thought for Today: My prayers, works, joys, and sufferings....
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Adapted from Mental Prayer, Challenge to the Lay Apostle
by The Queen's Work,(© 1958)