Psalm 86:11 (NIV): Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
David knew well that to fully and faithfully follow God required more than just faith. It required a two-fold work of revelation and revolution.
A person can only follow God as they know Him. And knowing Him requires that He reveal Himself to us and that He teach us His ways. He does this through the Scriptures, informed and enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Only in the words of the Bible has God shown clearly who He is and what He requires. Throughout both testaments God builds a complete picture of His character, His plans, His purposes, and His requirements for those who would yield themselves to Him. The Holy Spirit will open the minds and hearts of those who truly seek to know God, so that they can understand all that is contained in the Bible – mere human intellect is not enough.
But more is needed if a person is going to be able to follow God whole-heartedly: God Himself must give them an undivided heart. The hearts of mankind have been hopelessly bent and twisted by the fall, and in each of them there is a whole universe of things that are battling for first place. Many try by sheer willpower to keep God first, but end up failing, because no human effort can change the heart. These people go away after trying their hardest with the opinion that they are doomed to continue to sin. But, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God is actually able to perform a spiritual “heart transplant,” removing the old, stony, divided heart that is unable to fully devote itself to Him, and replacing it with a soft, pliable, pure heart that will instinctively obey His commands. (See Ezekiel 11:19-20, 36:25-27.)
It is only through divine revelation that anyone can actually know God and His commands. It is only through divine revolution that they can receive a new and undivided heart capable of completely loving God and of completely following His commands.
Father, You thought of everything! Lord, help me to know You better. And give us all truly undivided hearts so that we can follow You and obey You completely. Amen.