“Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” Psalms 86:11 NIV
When we first are saved, we tend to be excited to learn as much as we can about Jesus and the unconditional love that He offers. As time passes and we spend that time as a Christian in this world, we have choices to make. We can either choose to continue following God or we can choose to revert back to our old ways of doing things, the way the world does things.
To me, this verse that is contained in the 86th psalm, is a prayer. A prayer that every believer can pray at any time. It expresses to God our desire to get closer to Him than we are at that present moment. That means that Christians who are still early in their walk can pray this prayer and embrace it as a prayer to help them grow. It also means that Christians who are seasoned are able to pray this prayer as a way of getting even closer to God than they are.
This verse or prayer, however you wish to view it, is the essence of what we long for. We long to know the way that our Lord Jesus wants us to walk, so our walk looks like His. We long to have the comfort of knowing that He is eternally faithful to us even though we do not deserve it, even on our best days. We long to have a heart that is only focused on Jesus. Not one that is divided between pleasing Him and those around us. Not divided between following God’s plan for our lives and fulfilling our own plan.
Fearing God’s name is not quaking in our boots, it is reverential respect. Knowing that we can do nothing without God and that He has given us free will to pursue whatever we want, whether it is following Him or not, is the ultimate act of love. As Christians we should want to show the level of respect that that kind of love deserves.
Heavenly Father, teach me your way, Lord. Teach me so that I can follow Your will and know that You are always faithful. Give me an undivided heart, so I am always focused on You. Help me to give You the respect that You deserve. In Jesus’s precious name. Amen