How to Keep Your Heart Soft and Hear God’s Voice Every Day
TODAY'S TEACHING
I will give them [a new heart] and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take away the stony [unnaturally hardened] heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh sensitive and responsive to the touch of their God. —Ezekiel 11:19
God promises in Scripture to take our hearts of stone and turn them into hearts of flesh.
Imagine that—He can take a cold, unfeeling heart and make it soft, tender, and alive to His touch.
When we give our lives to Him, He plants a deep sense of right and wrong within us.
But when we ignore that voice inside us long enough, our hearts start to harden.
If you’ve felt that hardness creep in, it’s time to let God work.
It’s like a piece of clay in the potter’s hands—when it’s soft, He can shape it, mold it, and make something beautiful.
But if it’s hard, nothing changes.
Before I started truly seeking God, my heart was like a rock—unmoved, uncaring.
But in His presence, spending time with Him, I felt my heart soften, like soil after a long drought finally receiving rain.
The truth is, if our hearts aren’t sensitive to God, we’ll miss so much of what He’s saying.
This insensitivity often leads to blocking the blessings He wants to release in our lives.
God speaks in whispers, a still small voice, through gentle nudges in our spirit, and if we’re too hardened, we won’t hear Him at all.
A hard heart can’t respond to that quiet voice of conviction, direction, and instruction.
Worse yet, we might hurt others without even realizing it—and that breaks God’s heart.
When we’re caught up in doing things our way, running our own plans, we’re blind to His voice and His will.
But His Word is the tool that softens us, as we spend time reading and meditating on the scriptures.
A hardened heart can’t hear Him, can’t receive His blessings, and misses out on the beautiful relationship He longs to have with us.
Keep your heart soft, sensitive, and open to His leading.
To keep your heart in the right place, here are three simple steps you can take:
1. Spend Time in God's Presence: Make it a daily habit to sit quietly with God. Whether it's through prayer, reading Scripture, or just listening for His still, small voice, time with Him will soften your heart, just like how sunlight melts ice. The more you’re with Him, the more your heart will reflect His love.
2. Examine Your Conscience Regularly: At the end of each day, take a moment to reflect on your thoughts, actions, and attitudes. Ask yourself, “Was I listening to God today? Did I follow His guidance?” When you make this a routine, you’ll stay in tune with His direction and remain sensitive to His Spirit.
3. Stay Humble and Open to Correction: When God moves on your heart, don’t resist it. Be like clay in His hands—moldable and willing to change. Humility allows God to do the deep work in your heart, making you more compassionate, more understanding, and more aligned with His will.
These steps will keep your heart from hardening and help you grow in spiritual sensitivity.
If this resonates with you, here's a short prayer you can say today:
"Father, I come to You, asking that You soften my heart like clay in Your hands. I don't want to be hardened by life, ignoring Your gentle whispers and missing out on what You’re trying to say. Help me stay sensitive to Your Holy Spirit, open to correction, and humble enough to change when You show me the way. Keep my heart tender and ready to follow Your lead every day, in every situation. Amen."
God bless you!
Your brother in Christ,
Daniel
DailyEffectivePrayer.org
P.S. - Thank you for allowing me to connect with you through email. If you ever want to UNSUBSCRIBE you can do so at the bottom of any of my emails - no questions asked. God bless you.
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TODAY'S QUESTIONS
1. How can a Christian recognize when their heart is becoming hardened to God’s voice?
We all go through seasons where we feel distant from God, but a hardened heart sneaks in quietly. You’ll notice it when you stop feeling convicted about things that used to bother you. If God’s nudges seem faint or you find yourself justifying actions you once knew were wrong, that’s a sign. It’s like letting weeds overtake a garden—if we’re not careful, they’ll choke out everything good. We’ve got to stay on guard and keep checking in with our hearts.
2. What daily practices can a believer implement to keep their heart sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit?
The key is staying close to God every day, like a plant that needs daily watering. Spending time in prayer, soaking in His Word, and just sitting quietly in His presence will keep your heart soft. It’s also important to be quick to respond when He speaks—delayed obedience is often the first step toward a hardened heart. When we make it a habit to listen and obey right away, we stay in tune with His voice, and our hearts stay moldable.
3. How does spending time in God’s presence soften a heart that’s been hardened by life’s challenges?
Life has a way of hardening us—disappointments, hurts, and just the grind of everyday life can make us tough and closed off. But when we spend time with God, it’s like sitting by a fire on a cold day. His warmth melts away the hardness, and suddenly we feel tender again. In His presence, we remember who we are and who He is, and all those walls we built up begin to fall.
4. What are the dangers of ignoring the gentle convictions of the Holy Spirit in a Christian's walk with God?
Ignoring the Holy Spirit’s conviction is like driving through red lights—eventually, there’s going to be a wreck. Each time we brush off that still, small voice, our hearts get a little harder. We become less sensitive to God’s leading, and that’s when we start drifting. Before we know it, we’re off course and wondering how we got so far from where we started. It’s dangerous because a hard heart misses out on God’s best and can end up hurting others along the way.
5. In what ways does a softened heart enable a Christian to hear God more clearly and impact others with love and compassion?
When our hearts are soft, it’s like tuning in to the right frequency—we hear God more clearly. We’re able to pick up on His still small voice, those gentle nudges that guide us in the right direction. A soft heart is also more compassionate toward others, because when we’re sensitive to God, we’re sensitive to people. We start to see others through His eyes, and we become vessels of His love, grace, and mercy to those around us.
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Scripture Of The Week
In the same way [as God commanded farm animals to be fed for their work], the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
—1 Corinthians 9:14
