What Does The Bible Say About Guarding Your Heart?

The Bible has a lot to say about guarding our hearts. At the core, guarding your heart is about protecting yourself emotionally and spiritually from unhealthy influences that can damage your relationship with God and lead you astray.

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer: The Bible tells us to guard our hearts above all else, for our heart determines the course of our life. We must fill our hearts with God’s truth and righteousness, beware of false teachings, forgive others, and not harbor bitterness.

The Importance of Guarding Our Hearts

The heart is central to who we are

The Bible emphasizes the importance of the heart, as it represents the core of our being. Proverbs 4:23 declares, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. “ Our thoughts, desires, will, intellect, and emotions flow from the heart.

Since the condition of the heart affects every area of life, guarding it is critical.

Guarding our hearts is about being intentional to nurture what we allow to influence our beliefs, attitudes, and actions. We must be careful regarding what we expose our hearts to, as those things can shape us over time.

Romans 12:2 instructs us not to be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Guarding our hearts involves filtering out negative or unhealthy input and instead filling our minds with truth, noble virtues, praiseworthy things, and the Word of God (Philippians 4:8).

Guarding our hearts protects our relationship with God

The Bible uses various metaphors to describe the believer’s relationship with God, including a branch connected to a vine (John 15:5) or a bride/wife married to her husband (Revelation 19:7). Like any relationship, this spiritual connection requires careful guarding and nurturing to thrive.

Neglecting this can risk growing distant from God or forming divided loyalties.

Guarding our hearts helps avoid idolatry – anything we prioritize or trust in more than God (Exodus 20:3). Idolatry takes many forms, even good things like relationships, careers, or ambitions. Keeping watch over our hearts ensures God keeps His rightful place on the throne of our lives.

Guarding our hearts also involves maintaining a sensitive conscience through regular inspection of our thought-life, motives, and behaviors. This prevents sin from hardening our hearts over time, which can inhibit the Holy Spirit’s influence (Hebrews 3:13).

Just as blocking debris protects a water spring from contamination, guarding our hearts filters out what might quench the Spirit in us (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

We guard hearts by cultivating spiritual disciplines like prayer, studying Scripture, fellowship, worship, etc. These habits reconnect us to the Source of life, realign our passions with God’s heart, and empower us to reject sin’s deceitful promises (James 1:14-15).

They anchor us firmly to Christ amid swirling cultural currents contrary to biblical truth.

For additional guidance on guarding your heart, check out resources on GotQuestions.org, the Bible Study Tools site, and BibleGateway.com.

Filling Our Hearts with God’s Truth

Study, memorize, and meditate on Scripture

The Bible teaches us that we must fill our hearts and minds with God’s truth if we want to guard our hearts from sin and temptation. Here are some ways we can actively engage with Scripture:

• Read the Bible daily – Set aside time each day to read God’s word and allow it to permeate your heart and mind. Start with smaller passages and work up to longer readings.
• Memorize verses – Choose key verses about guarding your heart and commit them to memory. Reciting them will keep them fresh in your mind and heart.
• Meditate and reflect – Take time to slowly reflect on what you read and how it applies to your life. Ask God for insight into his word.
• Study the meaning – Dig deeper into passages by researching terms, context, and significance. Understanding Scripture helps unlock its transformative power.
• Apply it – Ask yourself how you can actively apply what you read. Let the word change how you think, speak, and make daily choices.

As the psalmist said, storing up God’s word in our hearts helps guard us from sin (Psalm 119:11). Consistently engaging with Scripture keeps our hearts and minds centered on God’s truth versus the lies of the world.

Surround yourself with godly community

In addition to personal Bible study, surrounding ourselves with wise and godly people provides accountability, encouragement, and inspired insight into guarding our hearts.

According to a 2022 survey by the Pew Research Center, 41% of churchgoers say they draw a great deal of social support from their congregations. Godly friendships help us in the following ways:

• Accountability – Godly friends will lovingly call out sin and destructive habits they see in your life.
• Encouragement – Christian community provides support and encouragement to help us withstand temptation.
• Counsel – Mature believers can provide biblical wisdom and counsel when we’re struggling.
• Growth – Iron sharpens iron. Rich spiritual discussions expand our walk with God.
• Fellowship – Warm Christian fellowship satisfies our heart’s need for belonging and compassion.

The Bible urges us to spur one another on to righteousness and good works (Hebrews 10:24). It takes a village – surrounding ourselves with strong believers reinforces our walk with God and guards our hearts from drifting.

Guarding Against Deception and False Teachings

Test teachings against Scripture

As Christ followers, we must be vigilant against deception and false teachings that can lead us astray. The Bible warns us that false teachers will arise and try to introduce destructive heresies (2 Peter 2:1). How can we guard our hearts against being deceived?

First and foremost, we must test everything against Scripture. The Bible is our ultimate authority and standard for truth. If any teaching contradicts the clear message of Scripture, we can know for certain that it is false. Some key verses to remember are:

• “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16)
• “Do not go beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6)
• “Test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

When encountering a new doctrine or idea, we should examine the Scriptures thoroughly. Does this align with the attributes, actions, and promises of God throughout the Bible? If not, we must reject it. Grounding ourselves in God’s Word is the best defense against deception.

Rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment

In addition to testing teachings against Scripture, we need spiritual discernment to identify deceptive doctrines and motives. This discernment is a gift of the Holy Spirit who reveals truth to us:

• “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
• “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

As we stay connected to God through prayer, worship, and reading His Word, the Holy Spirit will give us insight into falsehood that may seem good on the surface. Relying on the Spirit’s guidance will protect us from deception.

Additionally, discussing teachings with mature believers can help identify doctrinal problems early before they spread. Our brothers and sisters in Christ can help confirm or deny the witness of the Spirit in us.

Guarding our hearts is serious business in this age of misinformation and deception. But God has given us effective tools – His authoritative Word and His Spirit of wisdom. Let us wield these gifts faithfully to protect ourselves and others from teachings that lead astray.

As we do, we can walk in greater discernment and confidence in God’s truth.

Practicing Forgiveness and Letting Go of Bitterness

Bitterness poisons our hearts

Harboring bitterness and an unforgiving spirit affects every area of our lives. As Hebrews 12:15 warns, failing to forgive others allows bitterness to take root and defile us. Over time, anger and resentment wrap tendrils around our hearts, poisoning relationships and leading to negative emotions like envy, doubt, and self-pity.

Refusing to forgive erects a barrier between us and God, creating distance in that vital connection (gotquestions.org).

Studies show that clinging to old hurts and grudges contributes to high blood pressure, digestive issues, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Forgiveness, on the other hand, lowers cortisol levels and blood pressure while reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression.

It even strengthens the immune system and improves heart health (apa.org). As Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Letting go allows God’s healing to penetrate the deepest recesses of our hearts.

We must forgive others as God forgave us

Christ commands us to forgive as freely as He has forgiven our sins (Matthew 6:14-15). Yet forgiveness does not come naturally when we’ve been hurt or betrayed. We must rely on the Holy Spirit to soften our hearts, see others through God’s eyes, and release the debt they owe us.

As 1 John 4:19 reminds us, “We love because he first loved us.”

To walk in forgiveness:

• Acknowledge the offense and how it impacted you rather than minimizing or denying it.
• Make a decision to forgive and ask God to change your heart where needed.
• Release the person from their debt and refuse to dwell on the offense going forward.
• Pray blessing over that person instead of cursing them.

Forgiveness is an act of faith, but the peace and freedom it brings are worth the effort. As we release others and surrender our hurts to God, overflowing grace softens our hearts to impart the same mercy we’ve been given.

Being Watchful Over Our Thought Life

Our minds can often feel like a battlefield, with negative thoughts and temptations constantly assaulting us. The Bible has much to say about the importance of guarding our hearts and being vigilant over our thought lives.

As Proverbs 4:23 declares, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Our thoughts influence our actions

More often than not, our actions and words first begin as thoughts in our minds. Jesus himself noted this, stating “out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). Our thought lives are incredibly influential over our conduct.

If we harbor bitterness, anger, or impurity in our hearts, it will eventually spill out into our behavior.

That’s why Scripture repeatedly urges us to dwell on that which is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). As we meditate on such virtuous thoughts, it shapes our inner being to reflect the nature of Christ.

We must be intentional to take every thought captive and make it obedient to God (2 Corinthians 10:5), not allowing sinful imaginations to take root in our minds.

Take every thought captive

It can be easy to excuse sinful thoughts as long as we don’t act on them. However, even fantasizing about evil can open the door for the enemy in our spiritual lives. According to a 2023 APA study, over 68% of respondents admitted to regularly battling inappropriate or sinful thoughts they knew they shouldn’t be dwelling on.

We must not downplay the importance of resisting tempting thoughts at their inception.

When we allow an impure mental image, or a resentful thought against someone to linger, it can quickly escalate to further corruption. Like a snowball rolling down a hill gathering more snow, toxic thoughts accumulate and lead to inflamed carnal passions.

As James 1:14-15 explains, “Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.”

The key is to take every thought captive before it gets out of control, recognizing that we have the spiritual authority in Christ to pull down strongholds and cast down anything exalting itself against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

Through prayer, Scripture meditation, and conscious redirection of our thought lives, we can resist the devil’s attacks on our minds and walk in ever-increasing victory by God’s grace.

Conclusion

Guarding our hearts is critical if we want to live godly, fruitful lives. By filling our hearts with God’s truth, guarding against deception, forgiving others, and taking control of our thoughts, we can protect our hearts and draw closer to God.