At some point in life, most of us learn how to build walls around our hearts. Maybe you were hurt by someone you trusted. Maybe love came with conditions or expectations. Maybe vulnerability was met with rejection. So you did what seemed safest—you built a wall.
Brick by brick, we create barriers that we think will protect us. We believe if we guard our hearts tightly enough, we won’t be hurt again. But over time, the very walls we built to preserve ourselves become the prison that isolates us.
The truth is, walls don’t just keep people out—they keep healing out too.
The Lie of Self-Preservation
It’s easy to believe that guarding your heart means shutting others out. But that’s not the kind of guarding the Bible speaks of. Proverbs 4:23 says:
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
This isn’t a call to harden our hearts—it’s a call to protect what flows from them. The enemy twists this, whispering that safety comes from emotional shutdown and control. But shutting down your heart doesn’t prevent pain—it guarantees disconnection.
Walls may offer the illusion of safety, but they cost us deeply. They keep us from experiencing intimacy with God and others. They keep us locked in cycles of self-protection, suspicion, and numbness. We weren’t created to live behind barriers—we were created to be fully known and fully loved.
Jesus Wants In—But He Doesn’t Force the Door
In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says:
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”
He doesn’t kick the door down. He waits. He invites. He longs to come close—not just to the presentable places, but to the wounded, scared, and hidden ones. But as long as we keep the walls up, we’re also keeping Him out.
When you let Jesus into the places you’ve walled off, healing begins. He doesn’t shame the pain that built those walls—He tends to it with gentleness and truth. He brings freedom. And freedom always starts with letting love in.
Walls Keep Us From Being Fully Known and Fully Loved
To be loved but not known feels shallow.
To be known but not loved feels terrifying.
But to be fully known and fully loved—that’s the kind of soul-healing love only Jesus can give.
Walls tell us we’re protecting ourselves. But truth says we’re isolating ourselves. And isolation is never God’s design. 1 John 4:18 says,
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…”
That perfect love can’t reach your heart through a wall. But the moment you let Him in, fear begins to lose its grip, and love starts to lead.
A Prayer to Tear Down the Walls
Jesus,
I confess that I’ve built walls around my heart—walls I thought would protect me, but have only left me feeling distant, numb, and alone. I’ve tried to keep pain out, but I’ve ended up locking myself in. I’ve kept others at arm’s length, and I’ve kept You outside of the very places I need You most.
But today, I open the door. I invite You into every guarded place, every hidden wound, every fear I’ve carried. I give You permission to tear down every wall that stands between me and the healing You want to give.
Teach me how to live with an open heart, rooted in Your truth and safe in Your love. Help me to risk being known. Help me to receive love and give it freely. I want to walk in freedom, not fear. In wholeness, not hiding.
Thank You that You are gentle with my pain and patient with my process. I trust You to finish what You’ve started.
In Your name,
Amen.
Your heart was never meant to be hidden behind walls.
Let Jesus in. Let love in. And watch how He turns your guarded places into gardens of grace.