…about “tuning” my heart

Come Thou fount of every blessing

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace

Streams of mercy never ceasing

Call for songs of loudest praise

The word “tune” has several definitions and uses.  We usually think of music, as in tuning our instruments, singing in tune or on key.  However there is an archaic definition to the word which is “a frame of mind.”  Since the above song was written in the 18th century, it could probably be considered archaic.  Could the author have been saying, “Change my mind and attitude to one of loudest praise.”?

Last night at church, we had a time of worship and prayer.  The “outline” for the meeting was the A.C.T.S. model of prayer; adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication.  It is a logical progression of prayer.  Adoration - the acknowledgement of the greatness of God and His many works - leads automatically to confession which is the acknowledgement of our many daily failures.  Then comes thanksgiving, not only for God’s forgiveness but also for all the spiritual and material blessings.  Finally comes supplication which is the part of prayer we are most familiar with - to make our requests known unto God.

The prayer that caused me to think the most was confession.  Is that not where God begins to “tune” our hearts?

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Confess means to say the same as God and cleanse means to make clean.  If I begin daily to say the same thing about my sin that God does, He will begin to purge the desire for that sin from my heart.  He is “tuning” my heart to sing His grace!  Halleluia!  That is worth thinking about!