God Changed His Heart

...[A]nd God changed his heart.

Mark 11 was the scripture I was meditating on. Jesus had given his disciples a two-part instruction with an add-on: 1. Go into the village in front of you, and 2. Untie and bring the colt (that you will immediately find and has never been ridden). Then the add-on: 3. If anyone asks what you're doing, tell them I need it. This is all very specific, pointed information. If you know anything about ADHD brains, you don't give more than two to three directions at a time. So this is stellar. I love the words of direction ("in front of") and timing ("immediately"); they just jump off the page. But the end of the add-on was what I was ruminating on: "...and immediately he [anyone] will send it [the colt] here (vs 3)." Jesus didn't say, "If Sarah asks you what you're doing,"...or Asher, Jonathan, Abigail, or Rachel. He said IF ANYONE. I really sat on this a while, trying to get my head around it. Was God going to just zap people with a magic wand and change their minds about the situation once the disciples spoke, "The Lord needs it" (vs 3)? How could Jesus ensure, or at least trust, that every person would align with this one goal? You could argue that the word carries authority. Yes, it does. But if speaking the word with authority immediately conforms every person's will, then what was being implied here? And how was I to use this information?

I had learned that when you manipulate someone with the purpose of bending their will and/or actions to the outcome you want, it's basic witchcraft.  My understanding is that witchcraft involves manipulating circumstances to arrive at an end that the heart of a particular person wants, whether that is the person working to manipulate the situation, or whether they are doing so on behalf of another person's wishes. If other people are needing to be influenced and acted upon to bring about the desired change, then so be it. And sometimes, those other people are the direct target intended for the change versus just a circumstance (revenge, calamity due to jealousy, not getting that promotion so another person can, etc. Just fill in the blank.) And I want to pause here to say I'm going to do my best with this post, because I am bringing limited knowledge and awareness, like everyone, and I - hopefully - continue to grow in discernment. But I love how God answered what I prayed next, so I'm letting go of perfectionism to bring this experience, as God is just so cool when he teaches us. He shows off, and it's amazing to watch. But first, a bit of word analysis, some of my favorite "stuff." I geek out on linguistics and etymology.

MANIPULATION (Dictionary.com) has the practical meaning "to handle, manage, or use, especially with skill, in some process of treatment or performance (to manipulate a large tractor)." The audio soundboard in this picture is used via buttons and faders to control volume, reverb, timbre, input levels, panning, etc., which ultimately produces what an audience hears, regardless of what the input actually sounds like. This is all at the discretion of the audio engineer or tech director mixing - or manipulating - the sound. Anyone who's ever had a negative auditory experience can appreciate this. As with this example, there are so many others in our daily lives. Operating, handling, or controlling a door, a car, a stove, a shower, a deodorant stick, and your own personal finances are good and needed for practical living. We need to handle our business and get stuff done. And, it goes without saying that if you handle your armpits, most of your neighbors probably appreciate this. If you handle your car well, people appreciate you not hitting them. 

However, manipulation also means "to manage or influence skillfully, especially in an unfair manner (to manipulate people's feelings)" and "to adapt or change (accounts, figures, etc.) to suit one's purpose or advantage." These second and third definitions involve controlling the free will of a person or deceiving someone.  As my late husband once brought to light for me, we were never made to have dominion over people, only the land/earth. God said, "...and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth" (Genesis 1:26 - KJVS). The Amplified version says "complete authority" instead of dominion. Notice that God doesn't say "...and let them dominate other men [mankind]." This was NOT God's original intention, not even within a church system, which also didn't exist then and was not God's original design. Free will is so important that God continues to allow it at the expense of other people's well-being, even though it is grievous to him every day all day. So handling your own business is good and right, but controlling other people against their will is a no-no. 1 Thessalonians has good and practical advice on this: "...[M]ake it your ambition to live quietly and peacefully, and to mind your own affairs and work with your hands (1 Th 4:11)." And then Proverbs 11:1 states: "A false balance and dishonest business practices are extremely offensive to the Lord, but an accurate scale is His delight."

So all of this analysis is to wrap back around to where I was in my story. As I pondered all of this, I kept landing on the realization that Jesus was trusting confidently that ANYONE who asked what the disciples were doing (with the colt) would then line up with God's plan. How was the way God would do that different from manipulation? Or was it? So, I took it to God and simply said: Teach me in this. DO you change hearts and HOW does this work? 

Of course we know he changes hearts, because this is literally how salvation works. God knew the intention of my heart in my question, though. I was really asking should we pray for heart changes concerning other people when the issue isn't salvation and the outcome would benefit us. For a bit more context, I had a personal stake in this. The second part to this story is that I was mulling over how to pray about a certain situation in my life. You know what I mean. You're needing to pray, but how are you supposed to pray? God had shown me his will about a matter that would require a heart change from another involved party, and the outcome would benefit both of us. Knowing that free will is absolutely necessary for choice, I wasn't sure how to pray. On the one hand, I believed I knew God's will and that prayer is powerful and can bring change. On the other hand, I wondered if I was trying to control the situation a bit too much, even if in my prayer life. When did pressing in for a change of heart cross the line into attempting to manipulate circumstances, people, or even God? If you've read the story of Moses and Pharoah, then you've most likely struggled with this question of free will. If God regards individual choice as precious, then how does he change hearts, and how are we supposed to pray for this in various circumstances? 

As I went on with life, I stayed in prayer about it, and at one point, we were visiting my parents for a few days. I generally was up in the mornings before anyone. I would take those opportunities to have coffee and pray. One of these mornings, I felt I was to read 1 Samuel 10. It was the story of Saul's anointing by Samuel. And in vs 9 (Amplified), I received a direct answer: "...[A]nd God changed his heart." My mouth dropped. 

In the KJVS, it says, "God gave him another heart." How did it happen for Saul? Or a better question, since the scripture clearly puts the onus on God, is how did God do it? So I scoured the story to see what revelation I could get. 

In 1 Samuel 10, two important events happen: Samuel anoints Saul, and then he prophecies to him. Anointing came first; prophesy came second. I believe there are times when God determines it is time for revelation and rebirth in a person's life. There is a moment of anointing, of being set apart for a time or purpose. I have experienced this personally and it happens to people all the time in their testimonies. One in the Bible is Jacob at Peniel. Peniel means "face of God," and when people come face to face with God, they are often changed. I want to say always, but it's not true. Pharoah wasn't changed, and the Pharisees weren't changed. For Moses, the face of God was the burning bush. Then came the word/instruction of the Lord. Same for Saul. Samuel anointed him, and then came the word of the Lord. Samuel said to Saul, "When you leave me today, you will meet two men besides Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin...they will say to you, 'The donkeys you went to look for have been found. And your father has stopped caring about them and is worried about you, saying, 'What shall I do about my son?" ' " Samuel continues in vs 3 saying, "Then you will go on further from there, and you will come to the terebinth tree of Tabor, and three men going up to [sacrifice to] to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine." Samuel isn't done though. He continues on in vs 4, "They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hand." (Samuel said, "you will." Juuuuuuussst in case Saul had any doubt about what he would do. Makes me chuckle.) And Samuel still continues into vs 5, "After that you will come to the hill of God where the garrison of the Philistines is; and when you come there to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place [of worship] with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, and they will be prophesying. [vs 6:] Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and you will prophesy with them, and you will be changed into another man."

Samuel is on fire, and that fire is the fire of the most high God. Then comes the part in vs 9: "Then it happened when Saul turned his back to leave Samuel, GOD CHANGED HIS HEART; and ALL those signs came to pass THAT day." Wow. There is symbolism in Saul turning his back. It represents change, so I don't believe those words are by accident. He did a 180° turn, and things "turned" from there within Saul and within Israel. And THIS is how God did it. He made himself known, meaning, he was the living God who knew and saw all, which included Saul himself. Saul encountered the living God, who knew what steps Saul would take that day and even how he would respond to other people. And not only did he reveal himself; he made it clear that he cared enough to reveal himself. Why? Relationship and purpose. And I love that Saul's heart was changed before he even saw anything Samuel spoke come to pass. That's what encountering God gives the opportunity to do; believe. And Saul did.

God wasn't subduing Saul by mind control; God was inviting Saul into relationship with someone who clearly knew him at a level so deeply, how could he resist the sheer curiosity to venture further in? I think a good word for this is (to) woo, which Dictionary.com defines as: To seek the favor, affection, or love of ... to seek to win ... to invite ... by one's own action; court. One synonym for manipulation (in certain circumstances) is handling. Maybe it's not that God isn't manipulating or handling our circumstances, but his heart is pure and can be trusted to do so in a pure way, and he works in situations to then invite us into relationship. Witchcraft is the opposite. It comes from a motive that isn't interested in two-way relationship, but rather personal gain at the expense of another person, and it will go to great lengths at its worst to control, use, and destroy another person for said gain. Another difference is that God reveals himself, whereas witchcraft is often done in secret. The word occult as a verb is defined (Webster's Dictionary) as: to shut off from view or exposure: COVER, ECLIPSE. As an adjective, if something is occult, it is: not revealed: SECRET; not easily apprehended or understood: ABSTRUSE, MYSTERIOUS; hidden from view: CONCEALED. 

The conclusion I came to through this encounter with the living Word, and watching Saul also have an encounter with the living Word, was to remind myself that God does want to guide our lives. And sometimes, we are called to pray for heart changes in other people. And yes, at times it's in a way that may benefit us. That's not selfish; it's purposed, because God always is purposed. Other times, the outcome we are asked to pray for may not benefit us. The point is to be faithful to what he is asking, not feeling selfish but also not trying to control beyond what God has asked us to do or said to us. We are to pray obediently in accordance with his word, and trust that what we pray takes effect for his purposes, while at the same time, releasing the end result to God. He's the one that can be trusted. He's the one who knows where every heart is and where it needs to be, and he knows how to guide it and in what timing. And when it is time for the anointing, there will be response needed from that person. And God may be asking us to pray for things beyond our understanding. So we war and rest. We pick up a sword and are led beside still waters and green pastures. We do all the things, but we trust God for the 180 turn, and we thank him for his wisdom. 

Blessings, 

Jenny