“Teach me Your way, 0 Lord; …unite my heart to fear Your name” (Ps. 86:11 NKJ).
Have you heard of the person who finally “got it all together,” and then forgot where he put it?
In this verse, the psalmist prays for wisdom to know how to take all the different areas of his life and weave them together into a single strand of unity and strength. This passage has done a great deal to help me learn to bring my total being into harmony with itself, with the Holy Spirit, and with the rest of the Body of Christ.
In the original Hebrew text, the word translated “unite” in this verse is yachad (yaw-khad’). Grammarians define this word as “to join together, to become one.”
A genuine Christian is not a divided personality. Although comprised of different “parts,” he is not really a “triune being;” rather, he is a unified being. His tangible and intangible bodies are inextricably interwoven together with each other and with the Spirit of his Maker. He is one with himself and his God.
The next step is to recognize that he is also one with his brothers and sisters in Christ. In such a fusion, there are no divisions, no separations, no barriers, no cross purposes, no conflicts of interest.
When believers truly become one Body, with Christ as Head, instead of going off in hundreds of different directions, we will finally be able to give total concentration to the one thing we are all called to do: worship the Lord and be witnesses to Him in all the world!
This verse is a good prayer, “Unite my heart to fear Your name.”
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Dick Mills was ordained at The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in 1949. He and his wife Betty traveled as evangelists all over the United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Europe, and Australia. Dick and Betty are now home in heaven.
In 1966 Dick and Betty became a part of the then-emerging Charismatic Renewal. Passing through all denominational barriers, Dick has had the opportunity to speak in thousands of churches of varied backgrounds all over the world.
He ministered within several Christian organizations, including the Full Gospel Business Men, Women's Aglow, Inter-church Renewal Catholic Pentecostals, mainline Charismatic groups, CBN and TBN television networks, and many other independent Christian TV stations.
Dick appeared on numerous radio talk shows, written several magazine articles, and spoke at many Bible conferences and universities. He served as an adjunct professor at six Schools of the Bible and Seminaries.
In addition, Dick authored and co-authored several books and tapes. Dick's ministry was characterized by the unique gifts God has blessed him with. His services informed, enlightened, and motivated people to a higher level of commitment to God.