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.
> Reflection pause: Who or what feels big in your life today? Say out loud, “You alone are God,” and watch the scales shift.
This is more than theology. It is oxygen for the soul that was gasping in verses 1–7.
Having cried for help, David now catches his breath in worship.
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III. Consecration – The Prayer for an Undivided Heart (vv.11–17)
After supplication and adoration comes the deepest desire of all:
> “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)
Everything in this psalm drives toward that single petition:
“Give me an undivided heart.”
What Is an Undivided Heart?
An undivided heart is a heart with one allegiance—no competing loves, no split loyalties.
It is what Jesus meant by “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” and by “You cannot serve both God and mammon.”
David knew how easily the heart can fracture: fear on one side, ambition on another, regret pulling backward, anxiety rushing forward.
But he longed for wholeness.
He does not ask merely for moral resolve; he asks for divine creation.
Only God can give what David seeks.
> Reflection pause: Where do you sense a divided heart—between Sunday worship and Monday worries, between outward duty and inner affection? Bring those pieces to God.
Worshipful Outcome
The very next verse shows what happens when the heart is united:
> “I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.” (v.12)
The Hebrew stresses all. Wholehearted worship flows naturally from a whole heart.
David continues,
> “For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths,
from the realm of the dead.” (v.13)
He remembers past deliverance as fuel for present devotion.
The Battle Is Real
But even as he prays, reality intrudes:
> “Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;
ruthless people are trying to kill me—
they have no regard for you.” (v.14)
The external conflict hasn’t vanished.
That’s why verse 11 is so crucial: the undivided heart is not the reward after trouble ends; it’s the strength to stand while trouble rages.
God’s Character as Anchor
David steadies himself with theology that sings:
> “But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” (v.15)
That confession echoes God’s self-revelation to Moses (Exodus 34:6).
David’s trust is anchored in the same unchanging character.
Final Plea and Confidence
He ends with one more plea and a note of triumph:
> “Turn to me and have mercy on me;
show your strength in behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you just as my mother did.
Give me a sign of your goodness,
that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
for you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.” (vv.16–17)
Notice the shift: you have helped me and comforted me.
Past tense.
Faith already tastes victory.
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Pulling It Together
Psalm 86 charts the journey from need ? praise ? wholeness.
1. Supplication – honest cries for help.
2. Adoration – worship that recenters the soul.
3. Consecration – the prayer for an undivided heart.
The psalm begins with “poor and needy” and ends with “helped and comforted.”
That’s the power of a heart united in reverent love.
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Illustration – The Single Lens
Think of an old-fashioned camera.
When the lens is double-exposed or misaligned, every photo is blurred.
But when the glass is ground to a single focus, light converges and the image sharpens.
God wants to grind away the double exposure until our hearts focus clearly on Him.
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Conclusion – One Heart for One Lord
Our world rewards divided attention—multitasking, side hustles, multiple screens.
But the kingdom of God calls for single-hearted devotion.
The cry of Psalm 86 is the cure:
> “Teach me your way, LORD… give me an undivided heart.”
Pray it when you wake, when you’re tempted, when you lead.
Let it become the steady rhythm of your soul.
And as He answers, you will find what David found:
“You, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.”
