“Great is the love of God toward me!” Scotty Smith
Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me. (Psalm 86:11-13)
Glorious and gracious Father, this Scripture, this longing, this cry should be on my lips every day. What more could I want, what more do I need than for my easily distractible, easily dulled, easily divided heart to be united for one glorious purpose: to praise you with everything that I am and have … to fear you with an affectionate reverence … to love you with all my heart?
Indeed, merciful Father, to fear you is to no longer be afraid of you. How I praise you that the Gospel is the absolute once-and-for-all end of ever having to be afraid of you again. Lord Jesus, your death on the cross completely exhausted and forever eliminated God’s judgment against me and my sin.
UNDIVIDED IN YOU, JESUS
Because of you, Lord Jesus, I neither have to be afraid to die or to live. Because of you, Lord Jesus, my judgment day has already occurred at Calvary. Because of you, Lord Jesus, God will never deal with me according to my sins or reward me according to my iniquities, for God dealt with you according to my sins and rewarded you according to my iniquities.
Because of you, Lord Jesus, I am now declared to be righteous in the sight and dear to the heart of God. Because of you, Lord Jesus, I can unequivocally, humbly and boldly say, “GREAT is the love of God toward me, even toward me! It’s lavish, outrageous, immeasurable, enough, more than enough, WAY more than enough!!!”
YES AND AMEN FROM AN UNDIVIDED HEART
Yes, Father, extremely YES … give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name, praise you with all my heart and glorify your name forever … beginning with the next several hours of this very day. So very Amen, I pray, in Jesus’ name.
First published at The Gospel Coalition on October 13, 2009 A Prayer About an Undivided Heart, by Scotty Smith. Published with permission.
Questions For Reflection
1. In these verses, how is King David asking God to work in his life?
2. What does God’s faithfulness, mercy, and love look like in your life?
3. What barriers have you built to safeguard yourself from the vulnerabilities of love and the dangers of this world? Talk with God about steps you could take to start to dismantle them.
Scotty Smith
Scotty is Founding Pastor of Christ Community Church, in Franklin TN—a PCA church he planted with friends in 1986. After pastoring CCC for 26 years, Scotty resigned from the staff in May, 2012, to serve the larger Church with his preaching, teaching and writing. He serves as the Teacher in Residence at West End Community Church, Nashville—a daughter church of Christ Community. Scotty also serves as an adjunct faculty member for Covenant Theological Seminary, Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Redeemer Seminary in Dallas, and RTS in Orlando. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina (BA), Westminster Seminary (MAR) and Covenant Seminary (D Min.). Scotty has written a number of books, including Unveiled Hope, Objects of His Affection, and Everyday Prayers. Scotty and his wife, Darlene, have two adult children.
Prayer of Examen
Beautiful in its simplicity, this ancient prayer of reflection helps refocus our hearts and minds. How often do we come to the end of a day and wonder where the time went or regret the way we handled a situation?
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