PSALM 119:36 | INCLINE MY HEART

Psalm 119:36 ESV says, “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!”

I love the level of raw surrender packed into this verse. Consider how much faster we move toward God and away from the chains of bondage when we get brutally honest and desperate for God to move in our lives.

Any of us can stuff down negativity, sin, and brokenness long enough to put on a face and appear put together to those around us. We can mask up and hide the sinful wanderings of our hearts long enough to do a good work or participate in a positive church event.

But when we go home, and the pressure to look good fades away, all those temptations and desires begin to creep back in. Suddenly, the outward attempts to do good fall short as the honest state of our hearts become evident.

Does this sound familiar?

It is a pattern I have experienced along my faith journey that is absolutely crippling. This vulnerable place is the perfect position for the enemy to bombard us with lies, shame, and discouragement. So our verse from Psalm 119:36 is the perfect prayer for us to get right to the center of our growth in Christ.

We can put our hearts before God with a simple prayer, “Help me be holy.” This means we are offering ourselves to the light of Christ to shine on us, reveal the hidden strongholds of deception, the false idols we are clinging to, and expose our sin. To pray this verse is to ask for open heart surgery from the Master Physician, but it is to invite life-long restoration.

Are you ready for such a bold prayer? You don’t have to be prepared to dig in and go after this level of surrender today, but I want to invite you to consider what your life could look like on the other side of surrender. What would a life of freedom look like when the inclinations of your heart are not steered toward satisfying your flesh but mirroring the desires of Christ?

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