AN UNDIVIDED HEART

AN UNDIVIDED HEART 
Psalm 86:11 ESV
“Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.”

The NIV translates the prayer as “give me an undivided heart”—a prayer more needed than ever before. With the advent of the internet, with the rapid proliferation of images and messages swarming the social media, distractions waylay us every day, every hour, every minute! How can we unite our heart to fear God?

We can begin by asking God to teach us, “Teach me your ways, O Lord.” His ways are found in the Scriptures, and we do well to read it on a regular basis. I personally find reading from a hard copy Bible less distracting than from a mobile device. Face it, who can resist the pop ups, notifications and messages invading our private space with the Lord? Alternatively, find a quiet place and listen to the audio Bible, keeping ears open and eyes closed from all distractions.

Walking in God’s truth is the next step. Knowing God’s Word without doing it is deception of the highest order. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 ESV Over the years, I have taught the six steps from hearing to doing: I hear, I understand, I remember, I decide, I do, I persist in doing. Unless we do (and continue to do) what we hear (or read), we are still at the starting point. 

Distraction will hit us, either before we do or after we do. Like the birds that snatch away the Word (before we become doers) or the thorns that choke the Word (after we become doers), we face odds on every front (Matt 13.3-9; 18-23). Nurturing an undivided heart remains an ongoing challenge.

What will motivate us to press on? Ultimately, it is the fear of the Lord. Here is no cringing in servile fear before an oppressive master. Rather, we bow in reverential fear before the one to whom the psalmist prays (v.5): “For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.”

His steadfast love, our undivided heart