Expressing the Desires of Our Heart

The Psalms are possibly one of the most beautiful books in the entire Bible. Each of the 150 chapters are filled with heartfelt emotions and deep set desires. As we read through the psalms, we find ourselves identifying with many of the thoughts and prayers of the psalmist. At times, it seems as if the writer was reading our very thoughts and feeling our deepest emotions.

King David is credited with writing many of the psalms that we now cherish. He lived a life that was filled with seeking and finding God. Psalm 42:1 provides a wonderful example of David’s mindset and deepest desires each day, where he says, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, God.”  What a beautiful description of someone’s desire to know and experience God. 

David’s passion for God is frequently expressed throughout the psalms. The depth of his desire for God is found all throughout his writings. He cries out to the Lord to right the injustices of the world. He begs for mercy and pleads for God’s protection and guidance. He acknowledges the wonder and might of Almighty God and confirms his faith and his hope in a merciful and just Creator.

David understood the lies of this world. He was aware of the existence of false gods and knew that they captured people’s attention and adoration. David wanted no involvement with anything that would draw his focus away from the Lord. His desire was to know the ways of the One True God and to follow only Him. 

We read David’s thoughts on this in Psalm 86:11-13 where he says, “Teach me your way Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.  For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead.”

Let our prayers today, and every day, be filled with a powerful desire to know and experience God. 

Ask the precious Holy Spirit to teach us God’s ways so that we will faithfully walk the path that God has placed before us. 

Finally, pray for an undivided heart so that we will live a life for Jesus. That we will place no other god before our Lord and Savior.

Remember that life is meant to be experienced and it is meant to be lived in a manner that is pleasing and glorifying to God. Let us focus on the path before us and live today with a powerful desire to experience God.