“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to covetousness.” — Psalm 119:36

The one hundred and nineteenth Psalm is a celebration of the word of God, of the writer’s profound love and reverence for God’s word. It is no wonder then that the Psalmist would pray for his heart to be inclined to the Lord’s testimonies.

To incline means to bend, lean, or be drawn toward something. It suggests an intentional, directional movement—whether physical or emotional. Elsewhere, the Psalmist prayed, this time that it would be the Lord who would incline his ear to the Psalmist’s prayer: “Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech” (Psalm 17:6). Hezekiah used the same words when threatened by Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:16). The picture that comes to mind in this request is that of a parent and a toddler who wants to say something in the parent’s ear. The parent might be standing or even sitting in a way that their ears are away from the lips of the requesting toddler. In that case, the parent usually bends down to the level of the toddler so that their ear is in a position to hear what the child has to say. That is inclining their ear to hear. So, when the Psalmist says to incline his heart to the testimonies, he’s asking that his heart be bent, directed or drawn to a position where it can hear the testimonies and obey.

The heart as mostly used in Scripture is the centre of a person’s inner life that encompasses their thoughts, emotions, will and spirit. Representing a person’s inner being, the heart influences their actions, attitudes, and relationships.

The Psalmist is asking the Lord to give his heart a bend or a tendency that is toward his testimonies (the law or we could say the scriptures – God’s word).

A Natural Bend away from God

No person, born of a woman, has a natural tendency that is directed toward the Lord and his word. God identified this problem right from Genesis. Moses said, “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5). That is a very damning summary of the state of the human heart. It means that all the time, in every given moment and situation, the natural tendency of the human heart, what it is likely to choose when presented with options, is evil. It was this terrible state of affairs that led to the decision to destroy the first earth and leave only Noah and his family. What we are dealing with is therefore very consequential.

Reading through Scripture, you’d find that God brought up this issue of being drawn toward wrong or away from him many times. He spoke through Jeremiah saying, “Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed counsels and dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward not forward” (Jeremiah 7:24). Similar words are found in Jeremiah 7:26; 11:8; 17:13; 25:4; 34:14; 35:15; 44:5. Note that there are two problems here. Firstly, the Israelites did not obey; secondly, they did not incline their ears to hear. Beyond not obeying the Lord, their ears were not bent towards listening to him. Even when they had not actively disobeyed, the tendency of their hearts was not towards the Lord but away from him; they were more likely to disobey. This tendency away from the Lord would lead to actual acts of disobedience to him.

In my country, I have heard someone say that the bigger problem with corruption is not only that those with access help themselves to the public but that those who are waiting to do same are more in number. That means that those on the outside of public responsibility whose hearts are inclined to corruption are more than those already practicing it and that is a huge problem.

That desire shows the inclination of one’s heart. Satan and his minions watch your inclinations and tailor your temptations to match the tendency of your heart. To fix our lives, therefore, we must fix our tendencies.

This calls for an examination of your own heart too. Even when you have not actively disobeyed a specific instruction from the Lord, what is the tendency of your heart? Is it towards the Lord or away from him and his testimonies? Whether you will stand or fall into sin is in no small measure determined by the inclination of your heart. James says, “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed” (James 1:14). That desire shows the inclination of one’s heart. Satan and his minions watch your inclinations and tailor your temptations to match the tendency of your heart. To fix our lives therefore, we must fix our tendencies.

Qualified or Disqualified for God’s Use

Your heart’s inclinations (not even the actions yet) can determine whether or not you will be used by God. What has lapping water with the hands got to do with fighting a war? Yet God used how the would-be soldiers in Gideon’s army drank water to reveal the inclinations of their hearts. This determined whether anyone was used by God in the war or not (Judges 7:4-8).

Saul had failed as Israel’s king and God needed a replacement. He sent Samuel to the home of Jesse of Bethlehem to anoint one of his sons as king. On arrival, every one of Jesse’s sons who were present consecrated themselves and came to the arranged sacrifice. Samuel fell for physical appearance and almost anointed the wrong person, but God stopped him. The LORD rejected David’s older brothers because of the state of their hearts. The LORD said, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). They had consecrated themselves and were at least ceremonially clean but their heart conditions disqualified them from God’s use. The thoughts and inclinations of their hearts were not toward the LORD.

What he says to one he says to all (Mark 13:37). If the physically fit, kingly-looking sons of Jesse were disqualified for use by the LORD because of the state of their hearts, the LORD will not vary that condition for anyone, including you. If you will be used by him, your heart must be correctly inclined. For instance, you may not have handled money but what is your tendency with money? If you are given any to handle, will it be safe? Won’t your luxurious and vain tastes push you to pilfer resources that are meant for something else? A lot is hidden in poverty so it begs the question: Are you truly humble or that demeanour is of poverty? That you have not violated any sisters may not be because you have overcome sexual immorality. If you suddenly have access, what will be the story? The scandals that you see people fall into when given the opportunity are not suddenly acquired vices; they are inclinations that they always had but never found occasion to manifest them. Opportunity only allows the hitherto unseen inclinations to come to the fore. We must know ourselves including our dormant inclinations and deal with them or else they will deal with us, and that will not be in a good way. Worse of all, here on earth they will stop us from being used by God and have eternal repercussions.

If you will be used by Him, your heart must be correctly inclined.

Given that our natural inclinations are bent away from God, the change of direction toward His testimonies requires divine intervention. This brings us to the crucial need for God’s grace, which is the key to inclining our hearts toward Him.

A Command and a Prayer

In some of his last words to the Israelites, Joshua told them to “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel” (Joshua 24:23). The question of your heart’s inclination is a command. While you may have tastes and preferences toward which your heart leans, Scripture here commands that you incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel. Your heart needs to come to the point where its default bend or tendency is toward the Lord; that when you have choices to make between good and evil, your likelihood will always be to do that which pleases the Lord.

Your heart needs to come to the point where its default bend or tendency is toward the Lord; that when you have choices to make between good and evil, your likelihood will always be to do that which pleases the Lord.

The Psalmist renders this as a prayer. To bring about the obedience of the command to incline your heart to the Lord is beyond your power to do. Like I said earlier, our natural inclinations as people born in sin is away from the Lord. As we walk the earth and yield to various temptations, the inclinations away from the Lord become even more acute. To change that direction and incline one’s heart towards the Lord is a work of sovereign grace. Paul says it is God who works in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Both the inclination to the Lord’s will and the actual performance of it are the work of the Spirit of God. To get your heart to this position therefore, you must pray like the Psalmist.

Inclining Your Heart to the Lord

While we are naturally inclined to sin, the good news is that through Christ’s work on the cross and the Holy Spirit’s power, we can be transformed. God doesn’t leave us to fight this battle alone but offers his grace to reorient our hearts.

How then do you incline your heart to the Lord and his testimonies?

First, remember that you are commanded to incline your heart to him. So, you really have no choice in this matter than to comply.

Secondly, be like the Psalmist: pray. Pray that you will be ruled by the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5; 1 Corinthians 2:16). David also prayed, “Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity” (Psalm 141:4). To use Jesus’ words, “Lead us not into temptation” (Matthew 6:13). Jesus knew what he was talking about when he included that line in his model prayer. Some temptations are so tricky and difficult to deal with that the best way to deal with them is not to be inclined in that direction or be led into them at all. I like the way David worded his prayer: “Incline not my heart to any evil thing.” He is praying in effect that his heart is not tilted in the direction of evil in the first place, so as not to compound the work of declining it and then inclining it to the Lord. When your heart is inclined to a particular evil, it is a tough task to change the direction of your inclination to the opposite, to the Lord. This partly explains addictions and why they are hard to break. The addict is inclined towards a habit and declining the heart becomes an onerous task.

Thirdly, “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of your life” (Proverbs 4:23). We have many things that we treasure and protect. The wisdom of Scripture is that above every other thing, what you should prioritize to guard should be your heart. Guard the gateways to your heart by screening what you see, read and hear. Why so? Because your heart is the source of your life. I said earlier that your heart is the centre of your inner life, encompassing your thoughts, emotions, will and spirit. Your heart influences your actions, attitudes, and relationships. All that you are and do issues from your heart. As you think in it, so will you be. You must therefore be wary of the direction that it inclines for that will determine the outcome of your life both now and in eternity.

Guard the gateways to your heart by screening what you see, read and hear.

Fourthly, when the Psalmist prayed for his heart to be inclined towards the Lord’s testimonies, he was referring to the word. Your heart cannot be inclined to what it does not know. What it is fed will influence the direction of its inclinations. Shape your thoughts and give your heart something to influence its inclinations. What better way to do that with than the Scriptures – the written word? Paul would say, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). Jesus would pray, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). Set aside a daily time for Bible reading, or listening to Scripture while commuting. Small, consistent actions can reorient your heart toward God’s truths.

Shape the inclinations of your heart by feeding it with the pure spiritual milk of the word. Read it, study it, hear (listen to) it, meditate on it, speak it and obey it.

As you consider the inclination of your heart, take time to reflect on where your heart is bent. Are there areas where it needs to be redirected toward God’s testimonies? Pray for God to incline your heart toward his word, and trust that his grace will guide you in this process.