The Learning Annex, a chain of adult-education schools, says that more than 200,000 people have completed its popular class on controlling household clutter. Who takes the course? People who keep empty mayonnaise jars, manuals for appliances they no longer have, broken buttons, out-of-date phone books, and keys to houses they lived in 20 years ago.

Household clutter occupies space, saps energy, and creates frustration. Spiritual clutter is much the same--unresolved conflicts pile up in our hearts; unconfessed sins gather a thick layer of guilt; unspoken prayers litter our minds.

How can we clean out our jumbled lives? God's Word tells us how.

• Unresolved conflicts: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault" (Mt. 18:15).
• Unconfessed sin: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins" (1 Jn. 1:9).
• Unspoken prayers: "Let your requests be made known to God" (Phil. 4:6).

The prayer in Psalm 139:23-24 can be a wonderful beginning as we ask God to search us, point out our wicked ways, and lead us. Choked with clutter? Why not open a cluttered closet of your heart to God today.  — David C. McCasland