Undivided Heart

“Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me and undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” Psalm 86:11

When I read this I admire David for putting this request before the Lord. His desire is to fully follow God’s ways in every aspect of his life. But, I also must ask myself, is this really something that God does? Does God give us an undivided heart of is this the result of many individual choices we must make everyday.

On the one hand I would say no, this is not something God does. We may desire it but we need to be faithful in obedience as temptations come before us. We must make the right choice, we can’t expect God to make it for us. Our heart wonders, it creates hopes around worldly expectations that may not be in line with God’s desires. In fact, David felt this, that is why he calls out for an undivided heart.

On the other hand, I think God does do this through the work of his Holy Spirit. As we surrender different aspects of our life to him we begin to see things in a different perspective. Old attractions change and new perspectives take over. (“The old has passed away, the new has come.”) We still make mistakes but the mile-high perspective of our undivided heart immediately pinches our spiritual sensibilities. We pull more and more in under the desire to please God in all things, home, work, church, friends, avocations, etc.

David has it right in the end, we learn his ways and we walk in his truth through the intervening power of the Holy Spirit. He puts this “undivided heart” in us. It’s not an instantaneous thing but a pursuit of his righteousness based on his power and work. There is work that he does and there is power to chose to follow his truth in the way we live.

“Lord give me an undivided heart that knows your truth, along with the constant awareness that I receive and live it out by the power of your Holy Spirit.”