There is prayer I often pray, a request that I present to the Great Physician. “Please remove my spiritual blindness so that I can truly see. Please take away my spiritual deafness so that I can understand what You are saying. Take away the hardness of my heart so that I can fully enter into the story of the Kingdom of God that is being revealed around me.” I pray this prayer because I want to live my life fully embracing the mystery that surrounds me and because Jesus promised that if I asked anything according to His will I would receive what I asked for. So, I ask with great anticipation.
As I study the Gospel of Mark, I am more and more aware of the miracles within the miracles. There is a prophecy in Isaiah that is quoted in the Gospels, “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them” (John 12:40). I don’t fully understand this prophecy, but I do recognize that when people asked for physical healing they often received more than they asked for. But what about the healing of a hard heart?
My grandmother suffered from hardening of the arteries. [Hardening of the arteries happens when the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the other parts of the body become narrowed because fat is deposited on the inside walls of the arteries, then becomes hardened by fibrous tissue and calcification. When this occurs there is a reduction of both the oxygen and blood supply to the affected organ (like the heart, eyes, kidneys, legs, gut, or the brain).*] In Mark, when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, it says, “And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves but their hearts were hardened” (Mark 6:51,52). The Greek word used here for hardened mean to render callous, “like a formed callus which petrifies.”**
The disciples had been battling in the darkness against the winds of adversity. Since they were keenly aware of the spiritual forces of darkness, when they saw Jesus walking on the water they were terrified because they thought that He was a ghost. But when Jesus spoke to them and told them not to be afraid, and then got into the boat causing the wind to cease, they were flabbergasted!
Why? Why were they so overcome with amazement? It was because they hadn’t put the whole story together. They didn’t understand the significance of the miracle that they had participated in. “They didn’t understand about the loaves” (Mark 6:52). Instead, there was calcification that prevented the life-giving flow of the Spirit. The free flow of the Spirit that opens our understanding of the Kingdom of God is the cure for fear.
For a year now I have been working on memorizing the book of Revelation. Many have asked why I chose Revelation to memorize. My reason is very simple. I want the blessing that is promised twice in the first chapter. I am discovering in the process that there is a softening of my heart that is taking place. By heart I don’t mean the physical pump that drives my blood, but instead, my mind and inner self that the Greek word heart refers to. As I look through John’s eyes at the visions given to him and through him to me, I am gaining understanding. The more spiritual sight I’m given, the greater the peace I experience. And day after day I pray, “Touch my eyes, that I might see. Touch my ears so that I can hear you. Touch my heart, take away its hardness so that I can understand.” This blessing is available for anyone who wants to experience the mystery of God’s Kingdom. The healing of a hardened heart is a blessing that God wants to give, it’s there for the asking.
*emedicinehealth
**HELPS word-studies
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