I’m stuck lately at a few verses that align the word “heart” with the word “understand”. I did a brief study on it, and indeed, there are many verses that relate the two together. Understanding, according to the bible, comes out of the heart. Just as seeing comes from the eyes and hearing comes from the ears, true understanding comes from the heart.

According to Nave, the heart is “the seat of affections”. It is the “wellspring of life” according to Proverbs, from which flow “all the issues of life.” We know well that to speak of your heart speaks more than the blood-pumping organ in your chest, but the place where you feel deeply, make decisions, and emote life. Interesting, that our heart’s purpose, is to emote life in the natural, as a picture of the spiritual.

Easton says the heart is the “home of the personal life.” We would agree with that, and we know that we should guard it, as it is the free gift of God given to us, that which we have of our own, to make our own decisions with. The home of the personal life - the life within us that is personal, unique, our own, coming from our unique and specific relationship with the Giver of Life who made us. That flow of life is like streams of water “welling up into eternal life.”

And eternal life is to know God. But how do we know God? Paul prayed that the Ephesians would have a “spirit of revelation and wisdom that you may know Christ, having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may understand…” The Holy Spirit, gives wisdom and revelation (literally - “breakthrough”) into our hearts (NLT - “flood your hearts with light”) so that we could “understand” God and His ways.

Interesting how we must understand the Lord with our hearts firstly, and the mind is not mentioned. The mind surely is important, as we are to love the Lord our God with all of our mind, etc - but what does that say about human nature that God is giving us instruction? Perhaps the best place one can “understand” so that it really sticks, is the heart.

God’s user manual for the creation of man is detailing the fact that man understands things best when they are experienced in his heart, rather than just in his mind. Now, often the two can accompany each other on the journey to know the Lord, and should - but the heart is of firstmost importance. Unfortunately, the mind is the first thing we utilize in trying to understand the Lord and His ways, when the Bible clearly says it should be the heart. Examples:

Psalm 49:3 - “My mouth shall speak wisdom. The meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

Prov. 2:2 - “..incline your ear to wisdom, and your heart to understand.”

Prov. 3:5 - “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding…”

Eph. 4:18 - “They are darkened in their understanding…for they are hardened in heart.”
(again the similarity between light and understanding as in Eph. 1:18)

Deut 29:4 - “But to this day the Lord has not given you … a heart to understand.”

Daniel 10:12 - “And he (the angel) said to me: ‘Fear not, Daniel. For from the first day you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before God, your words have been heard and I have come because of your words.’”

Matt. 13:35 - “For this people’s hearts have grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, for they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and I would turn, and heal them.”

Perhaps a lesson can be learned hear not only for our spiritual understanding, but our natural one as well. How often do we say “I would do better at school, if I were only passionate about what we were learning” or “Give me something that interests me and I’ll do well”. Ultimately we are right, for if the “seat of our affections” is given to something, as well as our mind, then we will not only obtain the knowledge necessary, but the understanding to do well.

Webster defines “understanding” as “that faculty whereby we are enabled to apprehend the objects of knowledge”. I like that word ‘apprehend’. It means to grasp something or to really take hold of it inwardly. More than just memorizing facts, it is to become enlightened by the why as well as the what about something. It’s like knowledge in 3-D.

So, when we come to the Lord, let’s not only pray for “eyes to see and ears to hear”, but “hearts that understand”. Then, we have to let the Lord engage our hearts by talking to us, pouring out His love over us, fascinating us with His word, etc. Then, when our affections are touched, our hearts are held captive by His gaze and word, our mind will be flooded with knowledge, our spirit with genuine spiritual life, and our heart with the light of understanding. Praise God!