“With my whole heart have I sought thee” (Psalm 119:10).

The heart is that which thinks, wills, feels, and acts. It is the seat of our intellect and our emotions. If the Lord is in control of this innermost place, there is victory; if not, defeat. It is no wonder that Jesus said, “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart” (Matthew 22:37).

Six times in Psalm 119 David mentions the “whole heart.” These references reveal: His crying heart. “I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD” (v.145). “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (51:17). His obedient heart. “Yea, I shall observe it [the law of God] with my whole heart” (119:34). “I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart” (v.69). “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee” (v.11). His seeking heart. “Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart” (v.2). “With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments” (v.10). The prophet Jeremiah also understood that God rewards the true seeker. “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you” (Jeremiah 29:13,14). Those who seek still find (Matthew 7:7,8). “For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). His praying heart. “I entreated thy favor [literally face] with my whole heart” (Psalm 119:58). Coming to God face to face and beseeching Him to answer prayer is a marvelous privilege opened up for us by our Lord Jesus Christ. May we ever take advantage of our access into the holiest of all. “For through Him [Christ] we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father” (Ephesians 2:18). NPS