Soaking

So I was walking along this morning, praying, as I often do while I am walking.  And I prayed, among many other things, that God would soften someone's heart. 

Immediately an image came to mind...

 A pan, with food stubbornly stuck to it, soaking in soapy water: filled, and surrounded with suds. 

Do you ever do that?  Do you soak the pots and pans that are impossibly dirty, to make them easier to clean?  The water and soap softens those stuck on food particles, and in the morning, when the soaking is done, what was impossible, now is easy.


I think we all have some of those stubborn places in our hearts that could do with a little God-soaking, don't you?  Some empty places that could use a little God-filling, too.

Believe me, I have prayed hundreds of times for all kinds of hearts, including my own, to be softened, and never before has God replied so immediately and boldly.  In fact, not 60 seconds before, I had prayed for someone else's heart to be softened, with no immediate response.

I think it means that God has heard my prayers and answered...be patient...I'm working on it...but he's not yet ready to be scrubbed--he's soaking.

So I will continue to pray, knowing that right now, God is soaking that hard heart in His grace, drenching it in love, preparing that stubborn heart to be cleaned.  Knowing that sometime soon, that breakthrough will come.