Oh bless my scattered mind. . .

“ . . . unite my heart to fear Your name” (Psalm 86:11).

Charnock says spiritual worship is performed with a united heart. The heart is not only ‘now and then’ with God, but united as we worship Him. Spiritual worship is when the door of the heart is shut against all intruders, not left open for every thought that wants to come in.

This is a huge problem for my scattered mind. Focusing on one thing is never easy, even on a hobby, a television show or during prayer. I pray while I’m quilting, quilt while I watch television, walk while I pray. It seems my mind needs at least two things going that I might concentrate. This does not seem like a united heart. Even as I sit here, my thoughts are all over the place, today’s plans, yesterday’s events, the news, the weather, my messy desk. I’ve a grandson with attention-deficient disorder and often wonder if he got it from his grandmother, except he can focus, I cannot.

Israel’s King David asked God for it: “Teach me your way. O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name” (Psalm 86:11NIV). God made a promise to the prophet Ezekiel to “give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them” speaking of what He would do with his people when He brought them out of captivity (11:19).

In the New Testament, Paul told the Corinthians that marriage was okay, but those who are married have concerns that keep them from undivided devotion to the Lord. That verifies to me how much “this life” concerns distract me from whole-hearted worship. I need help!

So what can I do? I have responsibilities, everything from mundane things such as laundry and weeding the garden to challenges such as creating event brochures, designing and maintaining web sites, and preparing lesson materials for quilt classes. Does whole-hearted worship mean that I drop everything so I can think only about God all the time?

I don’t think so. God has given me these responsibilities and expects me to be faithful with them. Instead, His word says, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” He wants every activity to be done for His glory, done as an act of worship.

Maybe this sometimes annoying ability to multitask is God-given. How else could I do one thing and at the same time offer it to Him as an act of worship? Laundry and dusting are not particularly awe-inspiring, but God is, and while I do these and other items on my to-do list today, I’m looking to Him to unite my heart so I can worship Him in it all and do it all for His glory.