Psalm 86 - Undivided Heart

Psalm 86:1-9, 11, 14-17 NIV

Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 

Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; 

save your servant who trusts in you. 

You are my God; have mercy on me, Lord,

 for I call to you all day long. 

Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.

You, Lord, are forgiving and good,

 abounding in love to all who call to you. 

Hear my prayer, Lord ; listen to my cry for mercy. 

When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me.

Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;

 no deeds can compare with yours. 

All the nations you have made will come

 and worship before you, Lord; 

they will bring glory to your name.

Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness;

 give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;

 ruthless people are trying to kill me—

 they have no regard for you. 

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,

 slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Turn to me and have mercy on me;

 show your strength in behalf of your servant; save me,

 because I serve you just as my mother did. 

Give me a sign of your goodness,

 that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,

 for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Psalm 86 is a personal prayer from someone in trouble. The problem is arrogant foes and ruthless people attacking this person. She says they are trying to kill her.

Rarely do we have actual foes trying to kill us unless you're in a life of crime or behind enemy lines. Today I am thinking of the two television reporters in Virginia shot to death by one of their former coworkers. The shooter had been fired from his job with the television station. These two died because he was angry. It appears that the two reporters died only because he wanted to get back at the station who disgraced him.

In Texas a police officer was gunned down while pumping gas in his vehicle. This kind of brutality may cause us all to wonder about the stranger standing in line at the grocery or on the street corner. In such a time as this we may begin to feel everybody is potentially an enemy.

Psalm 86 is a good prayer whether your foes are real or imagined. The psalmist acknowledges who God is to her. God is someone she trusts. She puts her faith in God. She's been faithful to God, serving the Lord since childhood as her mother did before her. God and she have history together. She trusts in God's mercy and ability to save her. She knows God answers the prayers of those who call on Him.

The psalm speaks with confidence in God even though there is anxiety in the petition. She feels threatened by her foes and she feels certain that God will deliver her. She asks for joy, for guidance, and for and undivided heart.

Of all she says in this prayer, the desire for an undivided heart speaks to me the most profoundly. Her heart is being divided by fear and faith. Fear wants to take hold of her. She struggles to allow her heart to be fully trusting in God to exercise His will in her situation.

We can have divided hearts over many things. Our lives are busy with many demands and opportunities. Family, work, household duties, hobbies, church, community service and children's activities; these all claim a piece of our hearts. The cry for an undivided heart is a desire to stay true to God and not to give devotion to lesser things, a subtle form of idolatry.

The psalmist trusts the claim of God's sovereignty. She believes all peoples will bow in worship before the one true God, the God of Israel. There is none like Him.

How might your trust in God change your fears into faith? How might your certainty of God's ability and compassion for you claim your heart for God from all other suitors? Whether fear and doubt court your heart, or family and career ambitions, an undivided heart is a heart fully given to God in service. The servant's heart releases demands on how life is supposed to turn out. The servant whose heart is undivided in her loyalties will always seek to live according to the will of God. For He is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. God can be fully trusted. Pray for an undivided heart.