Lord, I sincerely want to present You with a soft and pliable heart. But I have to confess that sometimes the challenges of life and my own personality have produced just the opposite—a heart that has been hardened by adversity and stubbornness. I want to reverse that tendency with this prayer today. Dear Lord, I take the step with this prayer of softening my heart before You. I don’t know exactly how to do this, but I declare my desire to tenderize my heart to You and all Your purposes for me. Rather than hardening myself to what You say to me, I want to receive it gladly. I want Your words to find good soft soil in my heart. Please forgive me, Lord, when I have rejected or neglected Your words through pride, self-reliance, or contrariness. I repent, Jesus—and maybe that is the first step in the softening process. I tenderize my heart before You. Amen.