I have read this verse many times, but recently the words “give me an undivided heart” have really stayed with me.
There is something powerful about knowing the circumstances surrounding this prayer.
Psalm 86 is a prayer of David. We aren't told exactly what situation prompted him to write it, but we know he was in distress. He describes himself as poor and needy and speaks of arrogant and ruthless people coming against him. He was asking God for help, protection, mercy, strength, and comfort.
And yet, in the middle of all of that, David says:
“Teach me your way, LORD.”
Not just change my circumstances.
Not just make this easier.
Not just tell me when this is going to end.
Teach me Your way.
That really makes me stop and think.
Because if I'm being honest, there have been plenty of times in my life when my prayer has been more about asking God to change what is happening around me than asking Him to change what is happening inside of me.
I want answers.
I want clarity.
I want to know what is coming next.
I want to know how everything is going to work out.
And sometimes I want God to show me the destination when He is simply asking me to trust Him with the next step.
But David's prayer goes even deeper.
“Give me an undivided heart.”
The NKJV says, “Unite my heart to fear Your name.” The idea is a heart that is made whole or single-minded in its devotion to God.
An undivided heart.
What would that look like in my life?
It would mean trusting God when I understand what He is doing and when I don't.
It would mean believing He is faithful when I can see His hand and when I can't.
It would mean not allowing fear, worry, disappointment, circumstances, or my own desire to control things to pull my heart away from Him.
Because isn't that what happens so easily?
We can love God and still worry.
We can trust God and still try to control everything.
We can believe God is faithful and still wonder, “But what if this doesn't turn out the way I hope?”
We can have one part of our heart saying, “God, I trust You,” while another part is quietly saying, “But I need to figure this out myself.”
Maybe that's why David's prayer resonates with me so much.
He wasn't praying this from a place where everything was perfect.
He was praying it in the middle of trouble.
And perhaps that is when an undivided heart matters most.
It is easy to praise God when everything is going the way we hoped.
It is much harder—and perhaps much more meaningful—to say:
“Lord, I don't understand this, but teach me Your way.”
“Lord, I don't know what comes next, but help me rely on Your faithfulness.”
“Lord, my heart is being pulled in a hundred different directions, so unite my heart and keep it focused on You.”
I think about how many times God has already proven Himself faithful in my own life.
Looking back, I can see things I couldn't see while I was living through them.
I can see prayers that weren't answered the way I thought they would be, but were answered in ways I didn't yet understand.
I can see places where I thought God was absent, only to realize later that He was protecting me, redirecting me, growing me, or preparing something I couldn't see.
And I can look at where I am today and know that God's faithfulness was never dependent upon my ability to understand His plan.
He was faithful then.
He is faithful now.
And He will be faithful in whatever comes next.
That's why I think this verse is more than simply a beautiful Scripture.
It is a prayer I want to pray over my own life:
Lord, teach me Your way.
Not my way.
Not the way that feels easiest.
Not the way that gives me the answers I want right now.
Your way.
Teach me to rely on Your faithfulness rather than my own understanding.
And when my heart becomes divided between faith and fear, control and surrender, what I want and what You are doing...
unite my heart.
Bring me back to You.
Remind me who You are.
Remind me of everything You have already brought me through.
Remind me that I don't have to know what tomorrow holds when I know Who holds tomorrow.
And may I be able to say, just as David did, that I will praise You “with my whole heart.”
Because at the end of the day, that's what I want.
Not simply a life where everything goes according to my plan.
But a heart that belongs completely to God.
An undivided heart.
A heart that trusts.
A heart that listens.
A heart that follows.
A heart that remembers.
And above all...
a heart that is fully His.
Lord, teach me Your way.
