Sunday, January 25, 2026

Proverbs 4:23
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

The call to guard our hearts isn’t only about protecting ourselves from the evil or brokenness around us. It’s also an invitation to look inward and pay attention to how easily we’re pulled off course by the disruptive, natural tendencies of sin that live within us.

Scripture is honest about the condition of the human heart.

Jeremiah 17:9
“The human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it?”

This reality found in Jeremiah could feel discouraging if it weren’t for the kind of God we serve. God is both vast in power and rich in love. He doesn’t expose the deceivers of our hearts to shame us; he comes alongside us to guide us toward healing and a better way. He offers antidotes to the deceitful desires within us, not through condemnation, but through his presence and truth.

All he asks is that we open our hearts and invite him in to do the work only he can do.

We’re not meant to walk this journey alone. We can spend time with God through personal prayer, inviting him into our messes, and grow a deeper relationship with him.

We can also find that our journey is made lighter by walking alongside others when we surround ourselves with spiritual friends who are pursuing the same path. Together, we can look ahead to a journey marked by heart healing, honesty, and transformation.

So, guard your heart by being honest about its condition, and choose connection with God and others as your weapon against whatever seeks to steal your joy.

Discussion Questions:

Ice Breaker: What's something you do regularly to protect or care for something valuable in your life (a car, relationship, routine)? What makes it worth guarding?

How does community help us guard our hearts in ways we can't on our own?

Read Jeremiah 17:9 and Proverbs 4:23–27: What stands out to you most from these verses - a word, phrase, or warning?

Where do you notice tension between what your heart wants and where God is leading?

Reflect and Respond: What's one practical step you can take this week to guard your heart through prayer, boundaries, or community? Who is someone God may be inviting you to walk alongside as you pursue healing, honesty, and transformation?

21 Days of Prayer and Fasting - Day 21

Today’s Prayer Focus: To Praise Him 

Today’s Prayer:
Dear Father, I praise you for all you have done in my life and in my heart over these last 21 days. Thank you for drawing close to me and for leading me. Help me to continue growing and taking steps toward you throughout this year, so that I might know you more and make a difference for you. Amen.

Series Theme Verse:

Hebrews 2:1
So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.

This post was written by Lori Tuckerman, Director of Content for the Daily LivingItOut.