Ask Him for Holy Fear
"Unite my heart to fear thy name." — Psalm 86:11
The Closing Word on Fear
The chapter on the fear of the Lord ends not with a rebuke but with a request:
Let us pray earnestly and ask the Lord to reveal something of His greatness to us, and to put within us that holy fear of which He is so deserving.
Notice that it is asked for rather than worked up.
You cannot manufacture reverence. You can be persuaded intellectually that God is great and still feel nothing, because awe is a response to seeing rather than a conclusion from arguing.
So the fear of the Lord is a gift to be requested. And it is one He is glad to give.
What Blocks It
"Our wonderful God delights to commune with His people, but our lack of reverence for Him blocks Him from being able to do so most of the time."
That is a striking claim, and it turns the usual complaint around. We wonder why God seems distant. Part of the answer may be that we have approached Him casually for so long that genuine communion has become impossible.
The Holy Spirit is willing and eager to work in us to make us want to do God's will. But we grieve and block Him by clinging to the sinful desires we cherish.
The blockage is not on His side.
The Prayers to Pray
Scripture gives us the words.
"Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name." (Psalm 86:11)
A united heart — not divided between reverence and casualness, not partly His.
"Shew me thy glory." (Exodus 33:18)
Moses asked, and God answered with as much as a man could survive.
"That I may know him." (Philippians 3:10)
Paul, at the end of a life of extraordinary service, still asking for the same thing.
What Follows Holy Fear
Do not fear the fear. It does not produce a cringing believer; it produces a stable one.
"The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death." (Proverbs 14:27) "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge." (Proverbs 14:26) "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant." (Psalm 25:14)
Read that last one again. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him — and He will show them His covenant.
Everything in the earlier lessons about covenant rests on this. He shows His covenants to those who fear Him. If you want to hear what He is saying, this is the ground it grows in.
Point to Ponder
Awe is a response to seeing, not a conclusion from arguing. That is why it must be asked for.
Verse to Remember
"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant." — Psalm 25:14
Question to Consider
Have I ever actually asked God to give me the fear of Him?
Today's Practice
Set aside a genuine block of time — not ten minutes between things.
Go somewhere private. If you are physically able, get on your face. That posture is not required, and it is also not accidental; it does something to a person that sitting does not.
Then pray these three, slowly, and mean each one:
"Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name."
"Lord, show me Your glory — as much of it as I can bear."
"Put within me the holy fear of which You are so deserving, and which I have entirely lacked."
Then be still and stay there. Do not rush to fill the silence.
Afterward, write down anything that came — a verse, a sense, a conviction, a memory. This is a prayer God answers, though rarely on the schedule we had in mind.
Prayer
Father, I cannot manufacture reverence for You. I have tried. I have read the right passages and agreed with them and felt nothing.
So I am asking instead.
Reveal something of Your greatness to me. Not to destroy me — I could not survive that — but enough to correct a lifetime of casualness.
Unite my heart to fear Your name. It is divided. Part of me stands in awe and part of me treats You as a convenience, and I want that division ended.
And where my lack of reverence has blocked communion between us, forgive me and open it again. I want to hear You. I want to be shown Your covenant, as You promised to those who fear You.
I am waiting here. Speak, Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him." Everything you want to hear grows in that ground.