Psalm 119:34 | “Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.”

In addition to being taught God’s word, the psalmist prays for understanding to rightly apply what he learns. To obey “with my whole heart” means with complete devotion, holding nothing back. As Matthew Henry observes, “That way which the whole heart goes the whole man goes.” Whether it be unwavering devotion to Christ and his word or rebellion against God and his ways, in the end we all do what we most desire to do. Pray for a heart that is undivided. Ask God to expose any area where you are reserving control, and then surrender it. True understanding– the kind that leads to obedience– always begins with a willing heart. May God graciously grant us understanding and so transform us from the inside out that no one could persuade us to settle for anything less than full obedience to him. An undivided heart is the soil in which the lasting fruit of obedience grows.