An Undivided Heart Series

Introduction – When You’re Pulled in Every Direction

Do you ever feel like your heart is being pulled apart?

One moment you want to serve God wholeheartedly; the next you’re dragged by competing worries, desires, and distractions. You sit down to pray and suddenly remember bills to pay, emails to answer, a dozen things unfinished. It’s as if someone hit “shuffle” on your soul.

Psalm 86 is David’s cry when his heart felt that way.

It’s the prayer of a man surrounded by trouble but desperate for a single, undivided devotion.

Listen to the opening words:

> “Hear me, LORD, and answer me,

for I am poor and needy.

Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;

save your servant who trusts in you—you are my God.

Have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.” (vv.1–3)

David is not merely asking for safety.

He is asking for oneness of heart:

> “Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness;

give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” (v.11)

This psalm shows us how to move from a fragmented soul to a focused soul, from scattered anxiety to single-hearted worship.

It unfolds in three great movements:

1. Supplication – honest cries for help (vv.1–7)

2. Adoration – praise that remembers God’s uniqueness (vv.8–10)

3. Consecration – the prayer for an undivided heart (vv.11–17)

Let’s walk through them.

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I. Supplication – Honest Cries for Help (vv.1–7)

> “Hear me, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you—you are my God.

Have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.

Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.

You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.

Hear my prayer, LORD; listen to my cry for mercy.

When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me.” (vv.1–7)

David begins with poverty of spirit: “I am poor and needy.”

This is not financial language. It is the confession of a soul that knows it cannot rescue itself.

> Reflection pause: When was the last time you started a prayer with nothing but “I am needy”?

Notice the verbs: hear, answer, guard, save, have mercy, bring joy, listen, deliver.

Every verb is aimed at God’s action, not David’s self-rescue. He is like a child tugging the sleeve of a loving parent, confident that help will come.

This is the heart Jesus described: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

David is not shy about persistence: “I call to you all day long.” (v.3)

Prayer is not a last resort; it is the oxygen of his life.

And here’s the anchor of hope:

> “You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.” (v.5)

David grounds his prayer in God’s character—goodness, forgiveness, steadfast love.

He does not plead his own worthiness. He pleads God’s mercy.

By verse 7, his confidence rises: “When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me.”

Not “maybe,” but “because.” The God who answered before will answer again.

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Illustration – The 911 Call You Know Will Be Answered

Imagine a young mother whose child has collapsed. She dials 911 and hears the dispatcher’s calm voice: “Help is on the way.” She doesn’t hang up hoping; she hangs up trusting.

That is the spiritual posture of Psalm 86:7.

David’s first move is to pour out his heart without pretension.

Before adoration and consecration, there is raw supplication.

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II. Adoration – Praise that Remembers Who God Is (vv.8–10)

> “Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;

no deeds can compare with yours.

All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord;

they will bring glory to your name.

For you are great and do marvelous deeds;

you alone are God.” (vv.8–10)

Prayer that starts with need must rise to worship.

David lifts his eyes from the immediate to the ultimate.

He is living in a polytheistic world—many nations, many idols—but he declares, “Among the gods there is none like you… you alone are God.”

This is not mere poetry. It is spiritual warfare in song.

Notice the missionary heartbeat: “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you.”

David looks beyond Israel’s borders to the day when every tribe and tongue will confess the greatness of God.

It anticipates the vision of Revelation: “Every nation, tribe, people and language standing before the throne.”

Adoration does something vital to the human heart: it re-centers us.

When you declare God’s greatness, your giants shrink to size.