But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5:14, ESV)

Our hearts can be trained in spiritual matters to improve our walk and intimacy with the Holy Spirit. This is one of the truths I repeatedly emphasize in our devotional series and live Bible Studies. It is one of the intriguing revelations I have personally found walking with the Spirit and studying the Word of God. The life of the Spirit remains a mystery to many of us, for many reasons. It should not be. You can understand how the spirit realm works, and you can similarly train your heart to more fully cooperate with the Spirit. In fact, this is the whole point of spiritual growth!

Heb. 5:16 above says our “powers of discernment” can be “trained by constant practice”.What are these powers of discernment? It simply means spiritual faculties operating in our psychological processes. The example of discernment is given above. It can also be understanding, believing, surrendering, etc. You can train your heart to understand or believe God.

He goes further to tell us how this training can be done. He says by constant practice. This means by causing your heart to engage in spiritual things repeatedly, it quickly learns the activity and does it easier the next time. That means if you train your heart to believe today, it will be easier for it to believe tomorrow. If you yield to the Spirit today, it will be easier to yield to Him tomorrow. The heart learns and can be trained. Sadly, if you disobey God today, your heart will find it easier to disobey Him tomorrow. The heart will learn, whether good or evil.

Train your heart in the things of God. Learn to be intentional to cause your heart to believe scriptures. Read it, meditate upon it, say it to yourself again and again. As you do, your heart is taking note of it. It learns. It gets trained. The Spirit of God is waiting for some of you to enter into His Gym, to allow Him the time He needs to train your heart. Tell Him you are ready. Enroll today! Get to work. Stop mourning over the fact that you do not hear God’s voice or find it impossible to believe the Word. You can train your heart. Simple cooperate with the Spirit and do what it takes.

MEDITATE

Can you learn spiritual things or are they always mysteriously imparted to us without our control? 

APPLY THE WORD

The heart can be trained. If you obey God today, it will be easier to obey Him tomorrow. If you allow your heart to reject the Word of God today in disobedience, it will find it easier to do it tomorrow. Choose to train your heart in the things of God. Train your heart in understanding, believing, yielding, discerning, etc. Train your heart to develop and enjoy God’s presence!

PRAY

Ask the Spirit to help you be intentional to  train your heart repeatedly every day in godliness. 

Recommended

• God’s Medication to Change People’s Hearts
• My son, give me thine heart
• How to Train Your Heart to Believe God
• How to Change Your Heart
• As he thinketh in his heart, so is he
• View All Deshen Daily Devotionals

Free Mini E-book: From Spiritual Dryness to Flourishing