Psalm 86: 11-12

Lord, teach me your way, 

so that I can live by your truth;

Make me single-hearted,

So that I can fear your name.

I will thank you, Lord my God,

With my whole heart; 

And I will glorify your name forever.

“Lord, teach me your way.”  I can’t even begin to count the number of times I have prayed that prayer in my lifetime.  Often, when we ask God to help us grow, we haven’t really thought about what the cost may be. That makes me grin because I now see it’s the storms that wreaked havoc in my life that are what taught me His ways.  We learn to trust and develop a closer walk with Him in those seasons that push us into His arms.  We need to grow daily and strive to know Him more, not waiting for struggles to drive us there. We need to be the light that shines His truth to everyone around us, but to do that, we need to know the truth of what His Word says ourselves.  Our children and grandchildren are immersed in a culture that is far from God, so we need to make the most of every chance we get to teach them!

“Make me single-hearted”. That was David in a nutshell.  David was praying in this Psalm for God to help him keep God first place in His heart. David understood the importance of having a holy reverence and fear of God. David was such a man of praise; just look at all of the Psalms he wrote. He clearly understood the importance of being able to praise and thank God with his whole heart, regardless of what was going on around him. It was his “single heart” mindset that allowed God to have all of David’s praise. Yes, he had wives, he made mistakes, he was poor, he was rich, he was King, he was on the run for his life, he had victories, and he had losses, but at the end of the day, David could thank God for who God is and praise His name! He trusted God because he spent his life learning to trust Him in every situation.  People often talk about shepherds as though it were a job for the wimps who had nothing else to offer, and yet there were bears and lions and multitudes of other dangers out there. It isn’t a job for the weak-hearted.  The experiences out there protecting the sheep and spending time alone with God gave David confidence to face the giant.

Let’s determine to set our minds daily to be intentional in growing in our knowledge of God. A great place to begin is by spending time every day, even if it is only a few minutes and a couple of verses, in His Word and memorizing verses that will help us in our walk. Getting saved is only the beginning; it’s like a marriage. If a couple stopped getting to know each other after the honeymoon, they wouldn’t have much of a relationship.  Getting to know Him more is what fills you with hope, joy, love, and peace. That is what grows your faith because you see His faithfulness and love in all that He does. 

He loves you beyond what you can comprehend. You are not just a number to Him; He created you with a purpose in mind. Take some time today and ask Him to help you to be single-hearted and to know Him more, so you can become all He created you to be!