Incline my heart to Your testimonies!

This past Sunday I shared a message on Psalm 119. One of the verses that really spoke to me was Ps. 119:36 "Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!"

All of Psalm 119 is about God's Word. The Psalmist begins the Psalm by saying "Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart". It is this seeking that he prays for over and over again. In vs. 36 he says "incline my heart". The Psalmist prays for God to do a work in His heart that he might have a eager yearning for God and His Word.

As we begin a new year, like New Year's resolutions...it is commonplace within church congregations to emphasize a daily time in God's Word. Which I agree with wholeheatedly. But, what is often missing in these messages and challenges is the prayer of the Psalmist. The Psalmist understood that what He needed desperately is a work of God's grace in his heart that he might yearn for the law of the Lord.

As a pastor, I often hear people say something like "I know I need to be in the Word more" or "I should be reading my Bible but..." - but what I very rarely hear is "I need God to change my heart so that I desire His Word more". But, that is exactly what Psalm 119 is all about.

Begin today to pray and ask God to "incline" your heart to His testimonies. Recognize that God must supply this motivation. We are not naturally "inclined" to long for God and His Word. In fact, just the opposite is true. We are inclined towards everything else...everything that serves our flesh and is easy and brings instant gratification. Notice that vs. 36 brings this out in the second part of the verse - "incline my heart to your testimonies and not to selfish gain". Selfish gain!

So while we pray for God to change our hearts...we need to fight against our sinful nature that is so preoccupied with serving ourselves with what feels good and is easy. Our biggest battle in desiring God and His Word, is our desires for everything else. Those desires (although not necessarily sinful) fight against the desire to read and meditate on God's Word.

It is not natural to believe that we desperately need God and His Word to sustain us and protect us. It is not natural to get up each morning with a hunger for the Word of God believing that your soul and your well-being depend upon this nourishment. So, pray for God to do something supernatural in your heart...and mine!