a new heart?

"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 11:19). Are we praying to this end?

Oh my God, look around this place
Your fingers reach around the bone
You set the break and set the tone
Flights of grace, and future falls
In present pain all fools say, "Oh my God"

Oh my God, why are we so afraid?
We make it worse when we don't bleed
There is no cure for our disease
Turn a phrase, and rise again
Or fake your death and only tell your closest friend

Oh my God, can I complain?
You take away my firm belief and
graft my soul upon your grief
Weddings, boats and alibis
all drift away, and a mother cries

Liars and fools; sons and failures; thieves will always say
Lost and found; ailing wanderers; healers always say
Whores and angels; men with problems; leavers always say
Broken hearted; separated; orphans always say
War creators; racial haters; preachers always say
Distant fathers; fallen warriors; givers always say
Pilgrim saints; lonely widows; users always say
Fearful mothers; watchful doubters; Saviors always say

Sometimes I cannot forgive
And these days, mercy cuts so deep
If the world was how it should be,
Maybe I could get some sleep
While I lay, I dream we're better,
Scales were gone and faces light
When we wake, we hate our brother
We still move to hurt each other
Sometimes I can close my eyes,
And all the fear that keeps me silent
Falls below my heavy breathing,
What makes me so badly bent?
We all have a chance to murder
We all feel the need for wonder
We still want to be reminded
That the pain is worth the thunder
Sometimes when I lose my grip,
I wonder what to make of heaven
All the times I thought to reach up
All the times I had to give
Babies underneath their beds
Hospitals that cannot treat
All the wounds that money causes,
All the comforts of cathedrals
All the cries of thirsty children - this is our inheritance
All the rage of watching mothers - this is our greatest offense
Oh my God
Oh my God
Oh my God

Jars of Clay, 2006


"We must live a holy life; the gospel is not to teach us to talk, it is not to make us eloquent and subtle, and I know not what; but it is to reform our lives, that the world may know our desire to serve God, to give ourselves wholly to Him, and to conform ourselves to His good will." -John Calvin