SOAP 11/09/2015; Psalm 86:11

Today's reading: Job 34; 1 Corinthians 4, 5, 6*

S) "¹¹ Teach me Your way, O Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name."

Psalm 86:11 (NASB)
*because there are already entries for each of these chapters, I also read Psalm 86

O) This is a prayer of David, seeking the LORD for help, and affirming his trust in God alone. In this particular verse, David asked for God to teach him, which was a fairly common thing for David to ask. In his life, there would not have been a lot of men who could teach the king, either because of status or because of trustworthiness. David sought the truth of God from the source, through prayer. Last, there is a fairly peculiar line. There are many verses, even in the Psalms, that deal with the ideal of fearing (i.e., revering) God. However, David used the word, "unite" when referring to the stature of his heart. This has a connotation of a divided heart on the subject. This is really the way most people are, when trying to serve God. This is the same concept Jesus meant, when He said you cannot serve two masters (see Matthew 6:24), James brought up with a double-minded man (see James 1:8), and Paul described, about not doing what he wants to do (see Romans 7:15-16).

A) This is very real to me, especially in the context of fearing God. In my flesh, I am very disrespectful of authority. In fact, it is one of the most clear marks to me, that God is at work in my heart, that I respect authority as I now do. However, it still takes efforts for me to fear the Lord. There are ways that fearing God comes plainly, but obviously every time I sin, I am choosing not to fear Him. Even beyond that, my thoughts of the LORD are not necessarily what someone would call reverential. In the part of myself that chooses, I choose to fear the LORD. In the part of me that is my personality, I might say, that part does not easily fear Him. So, this prayer fits me perfectly, because I want God to unite those two elements of my heart, to fear His name.

P) Father, teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. You are holy, righteous, and mighty. I am guilty, helpless, and broken. In Christ, You have already redeemed me, and I know His righteousness was given to me. I also see, that my sanctification is still in progress, God. So, please continue to teach me, that I will walk in Your truth, and unite my personality with my will, to fear Your holy name. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.