A Broken Heart and Contrite Spirit Gets God’s Attention

A Question of Numbers–Affiliation–Religion–Or Something Else

“With all the billions of people in the world—believers and non-believers alike—what makes me stand out from all the others? What makes Father stop and listen to my prayers? What about me gets the Creator of the Universe’s attention?” And I had to really stop and think about this for a bit.

I know in a brutally honest way, that there are myriads of people out there who exceed me in their keeping of Torah; their dedication to the Faith; their prayer-life; their Spirit-life; their giving; their obedience to the teachings of Yeshua and to Torah; their level of faith. I know that I am a tremendous work in progress and I struggle each and everyday to walk this walk, especially having to work the job I have and deal with the people I oversee and then deal with my own personal deficiencies and insecurities. Thank Yah for His Ruach HaKodesh, for I would be far far far worse off than I am today if I did not have it to help me along my journey with Master.

I’m no one special, although I would like to think that I’m special to the Father. And being no-one special, the question then begs: what then about me will get the Father’s attention? After several minutes of contemplation, I came up with what I believed was the correct answer. And the preliminary answer I came up with was “heart”: that it’s the honest, pure and humble state of one’s heart that gets the Father’s attention. For Father is a God that looks at the heart of all men and the state of that heart will determine how Father will move (or not) in that person’s life.

The Heart and the God-Man Relationship

The heart seems to be at the “heart” of so many things (no pun intended)—of so many things related to the relationship that exists between man and our Creator. It seems to be the one thing that separates the goats from the sheep, so to speak. Simply put: those with “good” hearts (and of course the term “good” is extremely relative), the Creator seems to work with more so than those with “bad” hearts (again, extremely relative), and those with “bad” hearts the Creator seems to abhor and even reject.

The one scriptural passage that comes readily to mind is that passage in Torah where Moshe is reciting the events at Sinai when we recoiled from Yahovah’s wonders that were displayed before us and we in great fear begged Moshe to be our mediator and in effect, relieve us of ever having to establish a personal relationship with the Creator. Moshe wrote:

23 And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; 24 And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth. 25 Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die. 26 For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? 27 Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it. 28 And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. 29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! (Deu 5:23-29 KJV)

The clue here is that Father is a God of the heart and knowing that the heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked, that a change in our hearts is imperative in order for the Creator to even desire to draw near to us. Nonetheless, most of us were raised under the mindset that we don’t need a heart replacement—we can remain just as we are—and God will love us just the same. Yet the Bible clearly suggests the exact opposite. That Father desires a complete change of heart in order for His Torah to be written upon it.

Three-Critical Questions

It is my hope and trust that by the end of this post we will be able to answer some of the following crucial questions:

• Could it be that our prayers are not being answered because we have the wrong heart and wrong spirit?
• Of all the billions of souls on this planet, why would, should or does Father hear, see and respond to some (although they may be Natsarim in Faith-based affiliation only) and not to others?
• What do I need to do to take my relationship with the Creator of the Universe to the next level?

It is an established fact that the Spirit of Yahovah combs the earth constantly, searching the hearts of the peoples of the earth. II Chronicles records the following important, preparatory verse: For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. (2Ch 16:9 ASV) And in what manner does Father scourer this earth, searching out and examining the hearts of men? I would suggest that Father accomplishes this through His 7-Spirits that are described in a couple places in the Book of the Revelation. Revelation 3 records of these 7-Spirits:

And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; (Rev 3:1 KJV) And where are these 7-Spirits headquartered: why at the throne room in heaven as recorded in Revelation 5 which reads: 6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. (Rev 5:6 KJV)

So I ask you: is it not conceivable that these 7-Spirits of Yahovah are constantly going to and fro throughout the earth, checking in on man and what the status of certain men’s and women’s hearts might be? I’m just throwing that out there. So then, if Father has His Spirits constantly going about the earth, checking in on His creation and in the process, checking on the status or state of individual hearts and spirits, it would stand to reason that we should keep our spiritual house in some semblance of perpetual order. Wouldn’t you agree? And that spiritual house, I would submit to you, includes having our hearts and spirits in a proper and acceptable state; never wanting or lacking for anything apart from pleasing Abba Father and appealing to His good and perfect grace. In other words, it behooves us to always be in a Godly state, even when we are not being seen or watched by the eyes of men; for the eyes of Yahovah run to and fro throughout the whole earth checking on the hearts of men. (Reference: II Chronicles 16:9)

The Heart of Man–A Recurring Theme in the Bible

This heart thing seems to be a recurring theme throughout the entire Bible and I believe that we have either downplayed or altogether missed the importance of the heart of man to Abba Father, especially in Hebrew Roots. And maybe this is why we have so many problems in Hebrew Roots: like our forefathers in the Sinai Desert of Moshe’s day, in many cases, we possess hearts unfit for Abba Father. Oh, we go about thinking we’re keeping Torah; we accumulate a ton of head knowledge about the Bible; and we go about doing this and that, looking to achieve some level or semblance of righteousness that we think will get Father’s attention, but at the end of the day, if our hearts and our spirits aren’t right—aren’t where they’re supposed to be–Father wants very little to do with us.

This heart thing is of such importance that Father stressed that it would be the foundation upon which the renewed covenant would be built. Of that renewed covenant, Father said through the great Prophet Jeremiah: “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Yahovah,

“I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jer 31:33 NAU)

Master Yahoshua taught in the well-known Beatitudes:

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Mat 5:8 ESV)

Master describes Himself to those who would be His disciples:

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. (Mat 11:29 NAU)

In explaining the parable of the sower, Yahoshua recited an Isaiah prophecy:

FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’ (Mat 13:15 NAU)

And in a similar Isaiah prophecy, Master contends with the sages and the Prushim (aka Pharisees) regarding the condition of their hearts:

THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. (Mat 15:8 NAU)

And of course we can not overlook Master’s response to the Prushim on the Temple Mount as they attempted to trip Him up just prior to His Passion: Master recites the great Deuteronomic command:

YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ (Mat 22:37 NAU)

Four Key Old Testament Passage Related to the Heart and the Spirit of Man

Allow me to introduce the 4-Tanach passages that define what Father is looking for as a result of the hearts and spirits of His people. From there , I want to break down the key terms of each passage and see what insight we can gain as it relates to how we can effectively receive the Father’s attention and from there take our relationship with Yahovah to the next level.

Passage 1: found in Psalm 34:18 which reads as follows: “The LORD (i.e., Yahovah) is nigh (that is, is near) unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. (KJV)

Passage 2: it is found in Psalm 51:17 and it reads: “The sacrifices of God (i.e., Yahovah) are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” (NAS)

Passage 3, found in Isaiah 57:15 reads: “For thus says the high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy: I dwell on a high and holy place; and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” (NAS)

Passage 4 is found in Isaiah 66:2 and reads: “For My hand made all these things come into being, declares Yahovah. But to this one I will look: to him who is humble and congtrite of spirit and who trembles at my word.” (NAS)

So you see, the state of one’s heart and spirit are of such importance to Father, and for that matter, important to the relationships He would have with men, that in His divine providence, He saw fit that it be repeated several times in His Tanach.

But what I want to do at this point is examine the key terms of these passages and glean from them those truths that will help us answer the questions I expressed at the start of this post. As I alluded to earlier, if we can get this heart thing figured out, we will get Father’s attention and our relationship with the Creator of the Universe will be supercharged and all the rest—effortless obedience to His Torah; living holy lives; experiencing great and mighty exploits as we go about our daily walk with Messiah; making and retaining healthy and productive relationships with those in our circle of influence; fulfilling our proper roles in the Great Commission and the Gospel of the Kingdom; and living long, healthy and prosperous lives in Yeshua Messiah—all these things will be added to us in great abundance. I’m convinced of this because Master instructed that we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things would be added to us. (Mat 6:33 NAU). It would stand to reason that we can’t properly seek Abba’s Kingdom without the right heart and right spirit, otherwise that seeking exercise becomes a “fool’s errand.”

The Heart

Let’s start with the term “heart” and define exactly what it is we’re talking about, since so much is resting upon this concept. I would suggest that churchianity, or for that matter, present day Hebrew Roots, has done a lousy job explaining the concept of the heart to their adherents. The English term “heart” in these 4-passages is “leb” or “labe” in the Hebrew and “kardia” in the Greek. (Clearly, the Greek term “kardia” is where we get our English term “cardiac,” which in medicine is a term that refers to all things related to the organ that is the heart.) But of course in this discussion, we’re not specifically referring to that thing that beats in each of our chests and keeps us alive—although some might contend that several of us lack this vital organ—that we’re heartless. On the contrary: we’re talking about our inner man/our inner woman; our minds; or our understanding.

The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon defines the heart from the perspective of of the inner man or woman; the mind; and the will of men and women. The Friberg Analytical Greek Lexicon seems to agree with the BDB Lexicon regarding the concept of the heart, but it goes into a much greater examination of the concept. According to the Friberg, “kardia” refers to the inner self and is the source and seat of the functions of the soul and the spirit in the emotional life of man. As it relates to the emotional state of man, Friberg provides the scriptural reference of Acts 2:26 which reads as follows: “Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted; moreover my flesh also will abide in hope.” (NAS) From the rational perspective of the life of men and women, Friberg offers Acts 7:23 as an example and it reads: “But when he was approaching the age of 40 (speaking of Moshe here), it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel.” (NAS). But then from the volitional perspective of the life of men and women, Friberg offers II Corinthians 9:7 which reads: “Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for Yahovah loves a cheerful giver.” (NAS) So Friberg sees the heart from a volitional (having to do with the decision to commit a particular act or task), an emotional (having to do with feelings and sentiment), and a rational (that of reasoning and being of a sound mind) perspective and it would seem that these all play a symbiotic and active role in defining the heart of men and women.

Now the Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon gets into some pretty interesting stuff related to this whole concept of heart. It seems that Louw-Nida picks up from where Friberg and the BDB leave off and goes even deeper into the whole psychological aspects of this heart talk. According to Louw-Nida, the heart is the causative source of a person’s psychological life in its various aspects, but with special emphasis upon thoughts as exemplified in Matthew 22:37 which reads: “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart.” Then there’s I Corinthians 14:25 which reads “The secret thoughts of his heart will be brought into the open.” (NAS). Then there’s Romans 2:5 which reads: “Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath.”

But then the Louw-Nida seems to break this whole thing down into simple bite sized terms that we can sink our teeth into and it pretty much solidified the concept of heart for me. Essentially, the biblical concept of heart can be broken down into 4-words: (A) one’s mind; (B) one’s intentions; (C) one’s purpose; and (D) one’s desires. Plain and simple huh? Obviously, all 4 of these work in some form of unison and it is the whole that determines the state of one’s heart. I would guess, though, that if one or more of these is out of sink with the others, it can cause quite a bit of problems. For instance: if my mind sees that I must walk a Godly life but my desires are contrary and wants to lead me towards evil, then my heart may not be in a favorable state with Abba Father. And the Thayer Greek-English Lexicon pretty much solidifies this Louw-Nida model by describing the biblical concept of heart as “the seat and center of all physical and spiritual life; the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes and endeavors.” Indeed, that says it all. Bottom line saints, the heart defines or describes where our thoughts and minds are at any given time; how we see and behave in the world around us; how we see and feel about ourselves; the people in our lives, and especially how we see and feel about our Creator.

The Spirit

The next concept to consider is that of “spirit” or in the Hebrew, “ruach;” or in the Greek, “nuema.” This to me proved to be quite a challenging concept to fully grasp, certainly more challenging that of the heart.

According to Friberg, the biblical concept of “spirit” describes the immaterial part of the human personality. Additionally, it describes the capacity to know God; it is a disposition or way of thinking—or in a word, spirit is an attitude. But the Thayer sees spirit as the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of men and women. It is the efficient source of any power, affection, emotion or desire.

It would seem that the spirit is the driving force behind our personalities. I prefer to think of it as our attitude about Father, our Faith, and the people in our lives. It’s our disposition in short. Our personality or disposition or attitude is one of the first things that people notice when they meet us. Haven’t you met folks that make a terrible first impression because they seemed to have such a crummy attitude or mean disposition? But in the same vane, haven’t you met folks that leave you with a warm and loving disposition because they have such a wonderful personality or disposition—you just want to hang and get to know them. So it would seem, then, that our attitude, disposition or personality would have tremendous bearing on how Father sees us—or not. But I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself since I want to next examine the terms “broken” and “contrite,” since these words pair with heart and spirit and together work to capture the attention of Abba Father.

Broken–As in Brokenhearted

The term “broken” is “shabar” in Hebrew and “suntribo” in the Greek. And when looking up such terms, we must be careful to discern the difference in definitions based upon the context in which the term is used. In this particular concept, the term “broke” is used to describe the state of one’s heart. Clearly, one’s anatomical, physical heart is not broken or else you would not be able to live. So the term broken must be defined from a figurative perspective. Thus to have a broken heart, mind or soul for instance, would figuratively refer to a mental and emotional state of deprivation of strength; a breakdown maybe; a state of despair as found in Luke 4:18 which reads: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed me to a preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set free those who are downtrodden.” (NAS)

Thayer’s Lexicon sees the terms as defining a passive state of suffering such as in sorrow and to be, as it were, in a “crushed” state.

Contrite–As in Contrite Spirit

And lastly we come to the concept of “contrite” which is analogous to the English term “crushed” which is found in lieu of contrite in several English translations of the Bible. Other synonyms of the term “contrite” are “lowly” as used in the LXX or Septuagint; discouraged as used in the NET; and bruised as used in the YLT. The term “contrite” is “dakkaw” in the Hebrew and “tapeinos” in the Greek. It seems to denote simply: humility or being humble as demonstrated in Matthew 5:3 which reads: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (KJV) So when the term contrite is used in the Brit Hadashah, it denotes a person of trivial power or significance such as seen in James 1:9, which reads: “But let the brother of humble circumstances glory in his high position.” (NAS) Other extra-biblical sources claim the term contrite denotes “unimportant people” as demonstrated in Luke 1:52, which reads: “He has brought down rulers from their thrones and has exalted those who are humble.” (NAS)

When referring to the use of the term contrite, we must be careful to discern the good from the bad, in that from a positive sense, contrite is speaking to a state of lowliness, humility and gentleness, as illustrated in Matthew 11:29, which reads: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you shall find rest for your souls.” (NAS) Another illustration is II Corinthians 10:1 which reads: “Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am meek when face-to-face with you but bold toward you when absent.” (NAS) And of course, the term “contrite” could denote just low grade people who would conceivably be dangerous or have nefarious intentions towards those upon which they might prey, because of the destitute state of their lives. But having a contrite spirit is not what we’re talking about here with regards to a class of socially depressed people who seek to wage war against the system that is imprisoning them. We’re talking about sincerely “humble people” as denoted in James 4:6, which reads: “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (NAS—Friberg Greek-English Lexicon)

The Louw-Nida sees the term contrite as pertaining to one being discouraged and lacking in hope with the possible implication of some association with low social status—ones who are dejected, downhearted, downcast—as illustrated in II Corinthians 7:6—”But Yahovah who encourages the downhearted has encouraged us.” (NAS)

And lastly, the Thayer Greek-English Lexicon agrees with the Friberg and Louw-Nida in the general use of the term “humble” to describe “contrite.” Thayer uses Proverbs 3:34 to illustrate this and it reads: “You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for Yahovah is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (NAS)

Putting it All Together

So putting everything together in the context of these 4-illustrative verses we see that having a broken heart is noticeable to Father. It entail being in a state of total spiritual need. A broken heart recognizes that there is no one to turn to by Abba Father. It is a state where one’s sense of pride has been completely replaced with a sense of servitude and loyalty to the One True God.

When we go to Father in prayer or meditation, we should be in a state of utter and complete appreciation for all that He has done for us. It is imperative that we always remember from whence we’ve come and where we could be if not for Abba’s perfect will, providence and provision. Then we must approach Father with a contrite spirit. This translates into having a humble disposition. He or she whom Father is drawn is not pretentious; they are possess no agendas; such folks are transparent; these are completely open to what the Father has to give them and require of them.

I’m not saying that we should approach life in a dejected state; miserable; mousy; loathsome; depressed. Far from it. Shaul encourages us to:

Rejoice in the Lord always…” Philippians 4:4

That is a far cry from leading a depressed life.

What we’re talking about is how we see, interact and approach Father. Not that we are to be afraid to approach Father. Again, far from it. The writer of Hebrews wrote:

“Let us draw near with confidence (in the KJV boldly) to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:17, NAS)

That being said, we can boldly approach the throne of grace, but approach the throne of grace in humility and transparency and love and peace and hope and all the things that would disavow the thought of pride and selfishness in our lives and walk with Messiah. One can certainly be confident in one’s Faith in Yahoshua and at the same time, be of a contrite spirit and of a broken heart when it comes to our relationship with Abba Father. Indeed, it is the tendency of man to be puffed up—pompous—arrogant—haughty—proud. Why? Because hasatan is made of this very fabric and he seeks to push all of us to conform to his evil image as opposed to the image of our Master Yahoshua HaMashiyach.

Let’s Answer the Three Questions

• Could it be that our prayers are not being answered because we have the wrong heart and wrong spirit? Absolutely. As we’ve seen, Abba Father does not care for hearts that are pompous, arrogant, puffed up, miserable, angry, callous, etc. He seems to avoid them as much as He possibly can. So it would seem by deduction that individuals who possess such hearts are likely to not have their prayers answered. On the flip side, however, Abba hears the prayers and is drawn to the broken hearted soul and the spirit that is contrite: those who are humble, pure, honest, transparent, gentle, completely sold out and utterly dependent upon Him for everything. These enter into a season of prayer with “hat in hand,” so to speak, realizing that Father is the source of their redemption and their life; these possess demeanors that recognize the greatness of our Creator; that recognize that if not for Yahovah’s grace and providence and perfect will, they would be eternally lost; recognizing that their salvation and their relationship with Father has nothing to do with them as an individual apart from their obedience to His Word. Thus, the prayers of the broken hearted and contrite of spirit are heard and ultimately answered by Abba Father.
• Of all the billions of souls on this planet, why would, should or does Father hear, see and respond to some (although they may be Natsarim in Faith-based affiliation only) and not to others? As we just discussed in the previous question, it would clearly seem that Father responds to the pure of heart and humble of spirit over those who possess sullied and hardened hearts and contentious and arrogant spirits. Sullied and hardened hearts and contentious and arrogant spirits are held by most individuals on this planet. Yet those who are true disciples of Yeshua Messiah should possess the exact opposite hearts and spirits. And it is the broken hearted and the contrite of spirit that get the Father’s attention.
• What do I need to do to take my relationship with the Creator of the Universe to the next level? Examine ourselves and assess the true state of our relationship with Father. It’s time to be transparent with Father and with ourselves as disciples of Yahoshua Messiah. Why try to hide anything from Abba any longer? He knows our hearts. He knows our demeanors and our compulsions. Shaul instructed the Assembly in Corinth to “Examine—to test—themselves to see if they are in the faith, examine yourselves (Shaul exclaimed)! Know ye not your own selves, how that Yeshua Messiah is in you, unless indeed you fail the test?” (II Corinthians 13:5) Let’s be honest with ourselves: does it seem Father is ignoring us or that our lives are stagnant, despite our continued prayers to change our situation? Does it appear that life is dealing us a bad hand at every turn despite our obedience to Torah and maybe even our steadfast study of His Word? Is our life as jacked up as it was before we came into Hebrew Roots? Well, could the problem be that we have a jacked up heart and spirit? Could it be then, that Abba is simply not attracted to us because we lack the type of heart that He so desperately seeks after? If we have hearts that are lacking, the good news is that there’s a cure for it. We simply must give it all to Him. Turn everything over to Him. Seek after a pure and humble heart and spirit. Allow the Ruach to work in our lives and not fight the work that the Ruach is trying to do. Attack those strongholds that keep us stagnant in our walk because we default to the old man and old heart and old spirit. We must put these negative things permanently to bed. And with the help of the Ruach—maybe a little more fasting—maybe a ton more prayer—certainly with a change of perspective; Yah’s perspective that is—then just maybe we can receive that heart adjustment that Abba is seeking after in us.

I guess it all comes down to diving deep inwardly and asking the Father for more of Him in our lives. And if we have more of Him in our lives, by default, our hearts and spirits will adjust accordingly. As stated in one of my favorite praise and worship songs, written and performed by Michael W. Smith—”More Love—More Power,” he sings:

More love, more power
More of You in my life
More love, more power
More of You in my life

And I will worship You with all of my heart
and I will worship you with all of my mind
I will worship you with all of my strength
For You are my Lord

Shabbat Shalom–Shavuatov fellow saints in training. May you be abundantly blessed.

Faithfully submitted and yours in Yeshua Messiah,

Rod Thomas