31 Ways To Change Your Heart
~ Today’s Scripture Art and Bible blog post were designed to change your heart through praying God’s Word. ~
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If you are reading this article, you must be like me and feel the need to work on changing your heart.
Can you relate to wishing the true desires of your heart reflected more Jesus? Can you pray “Thy will be done” and mean it?
Could you use a little more mercy? Wish evangelism came easily to you? Aspire to love your enemies? Dream of doing missions without hesitation?
Maybe you wish that your top priority was daily time with the Lord.
(Pssst … I have some tools that can help with that one.)
All these things boil down to the desires of our hearts – which, if we’re honest, could use some work.
We all fall short, right?
Yes, I think we can agree that we need to change our hearts. So buckle up because it’s going to be a life-long process.
Why do you think God made our hearts this way – in need of a change?
God could have made every heart “good to go.” But instead, He decided to let us start with deceitful hearts that require a lifetime of work to transform them into the likeness of Christ.
Just take a look at this verse.
Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV): The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
As I was studying all the “heart” verses I could find, I think I found a clue to answer that question in the surrounding verses …
Jeremiah 17:5 (NLT): This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
And along that same vein, there’s this verse …
2 Corinthians 1:9 (ESV): Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
Hmm. Do you think God gave us these hearts so we would have to rely on Him to change them?
I think we’re on to something here. I looked up verse after verse and guess what?
God did all the heart-work!
In fact, I’m not sure it’s even possible to change our hearts by our own efforts.
But that doesn’t mean we don’t participate.
We have to rely on Him, remember?
So what should that look like?
Let’s dig into what the Bible has to say about changing our hearts.
And as you read this, don’t miss the fact that the following verses show actual examples of God transforming hearts of real people.
And it stuck!
If He did it for them, He can do it for you and me!
Hint … You may want to take notes – OR grab the free printable worksheets below!
31 Ways To Change Your Heart
{1} Ask God To Change Your Heart
Deuteronomy 30:6 (NLT): “The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!
Who changes hearts? Us?
No, not us! But it is our choice. So let’s ask Him to do that work in us.
And why is God the obvious Go-To for a change?
Psalm 33:15 (NLT): He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do.
The Maker of hearts also knows how to remake hearts.
{2} Ask God To Renew Your Heart Day by Day
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV): So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
How often does God want to renew and work on our hearts?
Day by day. So don’t lose heart, because the daily process is preparing us for eternity!
{3} Ask God To Cleanse Your Heart
Psalm 51:10 (ESV): Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Acts 15:8-9 (ESV): And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
How did God cleanse their hearts?
By faith.
{4} Ask God To Incline Your Heart To Him
1 Kings 8:58 (ESV): that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers.
Why would we want to ask God to incline our hearts to Him?
Because that will give us the desire to obey His commands.
{5} Ask God To Turn Your Heart Back To Him
1 Kings 18:37 (ESV): Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”
When you’re stuck in a cycle of sin and you’re not even sure you want out, how can your heart be changed?
Know that God wants to turn around the desires of your heart.
{6} Ask God To Heal Your Wayward Heart
Jeremiah 3:22 (NLT): “My wayward children,” says the Lord, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.” “Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply, “for you are the Lord our God.
What is our role in the healing?
A sincere “Yes, we’re coming.”
{7} Ask God To Remove The Veil Over Your Heart
2 Corinthians 3:15-16 (ESV): Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
When is the veil removed?
When we turn to the Lord.
{8} Ask God To Give You A Heart To Know Him
Jeremiah 24:7 (ESV): I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.
How do we get a desire/heart to know Him?
The Lord will give it to us – so let’s ask for it! Day by day.
{9} Ask God To Give You A Heart to Obey
2 Chronicles 30:12 (NLT): At the same time, God’s hand was on the people in the land of Judah, giving them all one heart to obey the orders of the king and his officials, who were following the word of the Lord.
What changed their heart to obey?
God’s hand.
{10} Ask God To Keep His Purposes In Your Heart
1 Chronicles 29:18 (ESV): O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you.
Jeremiah 32:39-40 (NLT): And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me.
When you’d rather do your own thing, what can be put in your heart?
God can put His desires and purposes in your heart.
{11} Ask God To Write His Law On Your Heart
Hebrews 10:16 (ESV): “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”
How can desires be changed to want to do God’s will?
Draw near to God and He will be happy to write His laws on your heart and mind.
{12} Ask God For A Wise Heart
1 Kings 3:12 (NLT): I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have!
Psalm 51:6 (ESV): Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
Why did God give him a wise and understanding heart?
Because he asked for it.
{13} Ask God To Open Your Heart To Pay Attention
Acts 16:14 (ESV): One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.
Who opened Lydia’s heart to change?
You guessed it – the Lord.
What did Lydia do first? She heard and worshiped.
{14} Ask God To Plant His Word In Your Heart
James 1:21 (NLT): So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
How should we let God implant His Word in us?
Humbly accept.
{15} Ask God To Grow His Seeds In Your Heart
1 Corinthians 3:6 (NLT): I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.
Can we grow out of our own efforts?
Nope.
{16} Ask God To Shine His Light In Your Heart
2 Corinthians 4:6-7 (NLT): For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
Why does God want to change our hearts to shine His light?
So it will be clear that our power is from God, not ourselves.
{17} Ask God To Send The Spirit Into Your Heart To Change It
Galatians 4:6 (NLT): And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”
Ephesians 3:16-17 (NLT): I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
What are two things the Spirit can do in our hearts?
He can empower us with inner strength and root us in His love.
{18} Ask God To Strengthen Your Heart
2 Chronicles 16:9a (NLT): The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
Psalm 73:26 (NLT): My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.
What kind of heart does God search the whole earth to strengthen?
Hearts fully committed to Him.
{19} Ask God To Pour His Love Into Your Heart
Romans 5:5 (ESV): and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
How can God change our hearts to love hard-to-love people?
God can pour His love into our hearts.
{20} Ask God To Put Caring In Your Heart
2 Corinthians 8:16 (ESV): But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you.
How was Titus’ heart changed?
God put earnest caring into his heart.
{21} Ask God To Give You A Tender Responsive Heart
Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NLT): And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.
What evidence resulted from their changed hearts?
They followed and obeyed.
That’s what we want!
{22} Ask God To Give You A Patient Heart
2 Thessalonians 3:5 (NLT): May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.
Paul prayed for heart change too! What two heart changes did Paul ask God to do?
Love of God and patient endurance.
{23} Ask God To Console Your Heart
Psalm 94:19 (ESV): When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.
What heart emotion did God provide when (not if) anxiety hit?
Cheer.
{24} Ask God To Guard Your Heart With His Peace
Philippians 4:7 (NLT): Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 3:15 (NLT): And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
When did God guard their hearts with peace?
As they lived in Christ Jesus.
{25} Ask God To Put Joy In Your Heart
Psalm 4:7 (ESV): You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.
Acts 14:17 (NLT): but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.”
Where can our hearts find more joy than anywhere else?
Our good God.
{26} Ask God To Refresh Your Heart
Philemon 1:20 (ESV): Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.
How exactly did Paul say his heart could be refreshed?
In Christ.
So let’s not look in all the wrong places.
Phew … I can use some refreshment right now!
But we’re not quite done.
I hope you detected how God wants us to rely on Him for all the heart changes.
With that said …
Don’t forget that there are some things we need to do (in addition to asking Him for all of the above) …
{27} Plow Up Your Heart
(aka Confess And Repent)
Jeremiah 4:3-4 (NLT): This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns. O people of Judah and Jerusalem, surrender your pride and power. Change your hearts before the Lord, or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins.
Joel 2:12-13 (NLT): That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.
Hosea 10:12 (NLT): I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’
{28} Seek The Lord
Deuteronomy 4:29 (ESV): But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
2 Chronicles 15:15 (ESV): And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.
Romans 2:29 (NLT): No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.
{29} Delight In God’s Word
Deuteronomy 11:18 (CSB): “Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads.
Jeremiah 15:16 (ESV): Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.
Ezekiel 3:10 (ESV): Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears.
{30} Make God Your Treasure
Matthew 6:21 (NLT): Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
Luke 12:34 (ESV): For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Matthew 22:37 (NLT): Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
{31} Believe/Trust in Jesus
John 7:38 (ESV): Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
Proverbs 3:5 (ESV): Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Ephesians 3:17 (NLT): Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
There you have it! 31 ways to change your heart – according to the Bible.
That conveniently gives us one way to pray for each day of the month!
I personally plan to pray one of these 31 verses every day until my heart changes for good.
Will you join me?
Want to read (perhaps memorize) and pray these 31 verses each day for a month?
Or every month?
Shop our printable Scripture Card Set featuring all 31+ verses!
*My prayer for you is … that this blog will inspire you to open your Bible every single day to seek God’s face and write His Word on your heart – because HE’S the key to lasting heart change!
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