Sept. 4, 2025
Guard Your Heart
When life gets hectic and emotions run high - is your heart in danger? In today’s episode, host Lauren Alessi invites us to reflect on the timeless wisdom of Proverbs 4:23 and why our hearts needs protection. Together, we’ll explore how even small moments of bitterness or comparison can impact our lives, and how intentionally guarding our hearts leads to wholeness, joy, and wisdom.
Join our community today in prayer and devotion as we ask God to search our hearts, help us let go, and fill us with His love and strength for the journey ahead.
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You are listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1349. Today's Devo is called guard your heart. Hey there. We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My morning Devotional podcast. Hello, everyone. My name is Lauren Alessi and I am your host for this week. And we are talking all out of the book of Proverbs.
00:00:39.590 --> 00:00:50.469
Yesterday we talked about or we spoke out of Proverbs 3. The day before was Proverbs 2, and Monday it was Proverbs 1. So today we are speaking out of Proverbs 4.
00:00:50.789 --> 00:00:56.549
And I encourage you to just keep up with us because we're going to be speaking out of the book of Proverbs for the whole month.
00:00:57.210 --> 00:01:11.129
Maybe a little bit of a challenge that might be fun is that even though we do Monday through Friday, maybe Saturday and Sunday, you tag on the extra days of Proverbs that maybe we're not touching, because when we catch up on Monday, we'll take.
00:01:11.530 --> 00:01:33.140
I think that's going to be, well, that I'm checking my calendar. So next week we'll take Proverbs 8 through the 12th. So maybe Proverbs 6, 6 and 7. Maybe you can find verses in between. And it'd be like a nice little challenge. It'd be like an interactive challenge with My morning Devo and your own devotional time. I think it'd be nice.
00:01:33.700 --> 00:01:56.349
So today, I think you guessed it by the title, we are speaking out of Proverbs 4. 23. And it says this above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. I think this is one of the most important verses that if we really hold on to it, will change our life.
00:01:56.430 --> 00:02:35.659
And it's like we said that when we think about the author of Proverbs and it's Solomon and it's such a successful man who was a king of Israel. He was so, so wise. He was so, so, so successful. And here he is writing a book that's like a manual to life. And sometimes we can really downplay it and just be like, guard your heart, you know, like, put Proverbs verses Like Proverbs 31, like in our, you know, social media bios. And like, we kind of water down the importance of what these words are when it's really a guide to life. Like, these words are so simple, but they hold so much. They hold so much power.
00:02:36.379 --> 00:03:52.650
And this was a verse I heard growing up in youth group a lot, growing up in church a lot. And that was Lauren. Guard your heart because everything you do flows from it. And I remember almost getting annoyed because maybe you've had this in your own life. This person really, really bothered you, and you really want to get bitter and you really want it to get to your heart because it's just easier that way. But you've got to guard your heart because you don't want bitterness to grow in there. Or maybe you just see everyone else's life flashing by and everyone's life moving on, and you really want to get bitter at God because you feel like nothing's changing in your life. But you've got to guard your heart because everything you do flows from it. And on the flip side, maybe you've met somebody who has not guarded their heart and they've let bitterness get on the inside, or they've let you know anger or even grief sometimes, or sadness or jealousy. You know, you've seen that get on the inside of them, inside their heart. And they haven't guarded their heart. And you see that in their words, you see it in their actions. Sometimes you could see it in their family, you see it in their friends. Because everything we do flows from the heart. And I just want to remind us, this is like if.
00:03:53.210 --> 00:04:07.870
This is like if Jeff Bezos wrote like a manual to life. This is how you live your life to get a super successful, not just successful, but also a super happy godly life. We'd all be reading it and we'd all be quoting it in like every sermon ever.
00:04:08.349 --> 00:04:18.990
And this book of Proverbs is what we need to glean from if we want a wise, happy, whole, full, successful life. And this is one of the things he says above all else.
00:04:20.029 --> 00:05:08.329
Not just your body, don't just guard your body, don't just guard your mind above everything, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. So I would just say this before we pray. What's one area of your life that you feel like maybe you've let go to your heart just a little bit? Maybe it is in your relationships, maybe it is towards God a little bit, whatever that might be. Or maybe it's towards church even. I don't know. I don't know. Whatever that part is, let's just work on laying that down to the Lord and let's let him do the work in our heart and let's move forward with guarding our heart and we can have feelings, we can be upset about things, but from here on out, let's work on guarding our heart because everything we do comes from it.
00:05:08.569 --> 00:05:45.160
Let's pray. Lord, we just submit every area of our life that maybe we haven't fully guarded our heart from, Lord and maybe we've let a little bit of compound comparison or bitterness or anger creep in, Lord, or whatever those feelings are. Maybe we've let it creep into our heart a little bit. Lord and Lord, we just ask that you search our hearts, God and that you show us where we've gone wrong, Lord and Lord, just make us better God. But Lord, we pray from here on out, Lord, help us to guard our hearts because Lord, we don't want our actions to be wrong. We don't want our words to be wrong or the people we surround ourselves with to not be adding to our lives, Lord.
00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:56.519
No. We want a guarded heart, Lord, that everything we do, God, just exudes your nature, Lord, you are wisdom and your love. In Jesus name we pray.
00:05:56.680 --> 00:06:18.879
Amen. So there you have it. Your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, Leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow. We pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:39.590
You are listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1349. Today's Devo is called guard your heart. Hey there. We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My morning Devotional podcast. Hello, everyone. My name is Lauren Alessi and I am your host for this week. And we are talking all out of the book of Proverbs.
00:00:39.590 --> 00:00:50.469
Yesterday we talked about or we spoke out of Proverbs 3. The day before was Proverbs 2, and Monday it was Proverbs 1. So today we are speaking out of Proverbs 4.
00:00:50.789 --> 00:00:56.549
And I encourage you to just keep up with us because we're going to be speaking out of the book of Proverbs for the whole month.
00:00:57.210 --> 00:01:11.129
Maybe a little bit of a challenge that might be fun is that even though we do Monday through Friday, maybe Saturday and Sunday, you tag on the extra days of Proverbs that maybe we're not touching, because when we catch up on Monday, we'll take.
00:01:11.530 --> 00:01:33.140
I think that's going to be, well, that I'm checking my calendar. So next week we'll take Proverbs 8 through the 12th. So maybe Proverbs 6, 6 and 7. Maybe you can find verses in between. And it'd be like a nice little challenge. It'd be like an interactive challenge with My morning Devo and your own devotional time. I think it'd be nice.
00:01:33.700 --> 00:01:56.349
So today, I think you guessed it by the title, we are speaking out of Proverbs 4. 23. And it says this above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. I think this is one of the most important verses that if we really hold on to it, will change our life.
00:01:56.430 --> 00:02:35.659
And it's like we said that when we think about the author of Proverbs and it's Solomon and it's such a successful man who was a king of Israel. He was so, so wise. He was so, so, so successful. And here he is writing a book that's like a manual to life. And sometimes we can really downplay it and just be like, guard your heart, you know, like, put Proverbs verses Like Proverbs 31, like in our, you know, social media bios. And like, we kind of water down the importance of what these words are when it's really a guide to life. Like, these words are so simple, but they hold so much. They hold so much power.
00:02:36.379 --> 00:03:52.650
And this was a verse I heard growing up in youth group a lot, growing up in church a lot. And that was Lauren. Guard your heart because everything you do flows from it. And I remember almost getting annoyed because maybe you've had this in your own life. This person really, really bothered you, and you really want to get bitter and you really want it to get to your heart because it's just easier that way. But you've got to guard your heart because you don't want bitterness to grow in there. Or maybe you just see everyone else's life flashing by and everyone's life moving on, and you really want to get bitter at God because you feel like nothing's changing in your life. But you've got to guard your heart because everything you do flows from it. And on the flip side, maybe you've met somebody who has not guarded their heart and they've let bitterness get on the inside, or they've let you know anger or even grief sometimes, or sadness or jealousy. You know, you've seen that get on the inside of them, inside their heart. And they haven't guarded their heart. And you see that in their words, you see it in their actions. Sometimes you could see it in their family, you see it in their friends. Because everything we do flows from the heart. And I just want to remind us, this is like if.
00:03:53.210 --> 00:04:07.870
This is like if Jeff Bezos wrote like a manual to life. This is how you live your life to get a super successful, not just successful, but also a super happy godly life. We'd all be reading it and we'd all be quoting it in like every sermon ever.
00:04:08.349 --> 00:04:18.990
And this book of Proverbs is what we need to glean from if we want a wise, happy, whole, full, successful life. And this is one of the things he says above all else.
00:04:20.029 --> 00:05:08.329
Not just your body, don't just guard your body, don't just guard your mind above everything, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. So I would just say this before we pray. What's one area of your life that you feel like maybe you've let go to your heart just a little bit? Maybe it is in your relationships, maybe it is towards God a little bit, whatever that might be. Or maybe it's towards church even. I don't know. I don't know. Whatever that part is, let's just work on laying that down to the Lord and let's let him do the work in our heart and let's move forward with guarding our heart and we can have feelings, we can be upset about things, but from here on out, let's work on guarding our heart because everything we do comes from it.
00:05:08.569 --> 00:05:45.160
Let's pray. Lord, we just submit every area of our life that maybe we haven't fully guarded our heart from, Lord and maybe we've let a little bit of compound comparison or bitterness or anger creep in, Lord, or whatever those feelings are. Maybe we've let it creep into our heart a little bit. Lord and Lord, we just ask that you search our hearts, God and that you show us where we've gone wrong, Lord and Lord, just make us better God. But Lord, we pray from here on out, Lord, help us to guard our hearts because Lord, we don't want our actions to be wrong. We don't want our words to be wrong or the people we surround ourselves with to not be adding to our lives, Lord.
00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:56.519
No. We want a guarded heart, Lord, that everything we do, God, just exudes your nature, Lord, you are wisdom and your love. In Jesus name we pray.
00:05:56.680 --> 00:06:18.879
Amen. So there you have it. Your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, Leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow. We pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.