“Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.“

Psalm 86:11-13 

–

AUGUST 28, 2025

David makes a request of the Lord that can be ours as well: He asks the Lord to teach him His way.  

What is the way of the Lord? Jesus prompted an expert in the law to provide us with an answer in the Gospel of Luke: 

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your strength and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
(Luke 10:27) 

Jesus approved this response, which makes love of God and love of neighbor inseparable.  

In Psalm 86, David commits to walking in the truth once he has received it. In other words, David understood that to know the way of the Lord was to embody it in his life. Our knowledge of God’s truth must lead to its application.  

David’s next request was for an undivided heart. He indicated that an undivided heart was a prerequisite to fearing or respecting the name of God. To fear something is to give it the consideration it deserves. We struggle to give God the consideration He deserves because our hearts are too often divided. I find my heart divided on a regular basis. There are many seemingly legitimate things that pull at my heart. We must ask God for undivided hearts, because we are incapable of maintaining them so ourselves.  

David gives us hope in our dilemma. He opens his mouth in worship and praise with all his heart. Worship makes the heart whole. Worship gives God His rightful place in the center of our hearts. This is a manifestation of His love for us, because He gives to us what we are incapable of obtaining ourselves: hearts that are undivided. We are delivered from condemnation and death because we have a Savior who entered the depths of the grave. But He rose again and bids us to come and worship with all our heart.   

Questions for reflection and discussion:  

  • How are you embodying the way of the Lord in your life, in your love for God and in your love for your neighbor?  
  • What are some of the things that divide your heart?  
  • How does worship bring wholeness to your heart?       

Church Reading Plan: 1 Samuel 20; 1 Corinthians 2