An Undivided Mind

"Teach me Your way, Yahweh, and I will live by Your truth. Give me an undivided mind to fear Your name. I will praise You with all my heart, Lord my God, and I will honor Your name forever" (Ps. 86:11-12, HCSB).

Do you ever feel like your mind is divided in its loyalties? Do you feel the necessity of this prayer? I find myself in constant need of instruction. It feels as if I forget a lesson nearly as quickly as I learn it. I have to be remind again and again. Do you ever feel that way?

The psalmist recognizes that he personally needs to be instructed by God if he is to live God's truth. He knows that God must give him an undivided heart. The psalmist is powerless to heal the divide within. It will take an act of God to bring his loyalties into a singular focus.

What is truly impressive in this prayer is that the psalmist wants an undivided mind so that he may fear the Lord. Before you cue the thunder sound effects, realize that when the Bible speaks of fear of the Lord, it focuses more on reverence and less on terror. Fear of the Lord means that we hate evil (Prov. 8:13). It means that we understand the God is holy, and in that holiness he hates sin.

God's very nature detests sin. If I asked you to eat a worm, you might be appalled. That feeling of revulsion gives you a slight glimmer of understanding when it comes to understanding how the Holy One views sin. In his holiness, God acts as the Righteous Judge, condemning all evil. Sin then becomes an act of treason against a holy God.

As we experience the love of God, through his gracious mercy, we come to hate sin because it offends our loving Father. In reverence, we seek to put off all sin because it is an affront to the righteous nature of God, who sent his Son to die in our place and pay our sin debt. When our allegiance is torn, so that we do not fear God as we should, we dishonor Christ's sacrifice.

As a person who struggles with sin (so that  I find myself doing the evil I hate, while yearning to do good), I find this prayer necessary. Apart from the Spirit's work in my life, I would not live God's truth. If the Spirit was not working in me to will and do the work of God (see Phil. 1:13), I would not desire to do the will of God. So I pray, "Lord, give me an undivided mind to fear Your name."