Psalm 86: 1 Hear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you.
3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5 You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.
6 Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.
9 All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.
10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.
14 The arrogant are attacking me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life-- men without regard for you.
15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant.
17 Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
Devotional:
With David, we ask God to teach us the way because by ourselves we cannot find it. Yet even when we know God's way, we have trouble staying on it, since we have wayward hearts. Therefore we also ask for an undivided heart: Our interests and desires flutter, like birds, in all directions. Give us single-mindedness, O God.
God demands undivided loyalty. God is a jealous God who does not tolerate idols. Whatever and whoever competes with God for first place in your and my life must be cut down to size. But if God demands loyalty, he also gives us the ability to be loyal. "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them," God promises in Ezekiel 11:19. Therefore we must ask. Ask and work, so we will not be hypocrites when we pray.
When we serve God with a divided heart, we sin against God and we make ourselves unhappy. In fact, a divided heart in any area of life causes unhappiness---not only in religion. People who are always looking for a new job never find satisfaction in their present position. A married person who is always looking over the fence cannot find happiness with his or her spouse. We have to be single-minded in order to be successful in work, happy in marriage, and blessed in the service of God. But divided loyalty and a distracted heart insult the LORD and cause misery.
"Teach me your way, O LORD," and "give me an undivided heart."
