I pray with all my heart; answer me, Lord! I will obey your decrees.
Parallel translations
- WEB I have called with my whole heart. Answer me, Yahweh! I will keep your statutes.
- KJV I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes.
- BSB I call with all my heart; answer me, O LORD! I will obey Your statutes.
- NKJV I cry out with my whole heart; Hear me, O Lord! I will keep Your statutes.
- NASB ¶I cried out with all my heart; answer me, Lord! I will comply with Your statutes.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The psalmist prays wholeheartedly for God to answer, pledging to keep His statutes. Sincere, undivided prayer goes hand in hand with obedience.
Overview
Opening the 'Qoph' stanza, the writer cries out with his 'whole heart,' showing that true prayer engages the whole person, not divided loyalties. His petition and his promise to obey are bound together, for he seeks God's help in order to walk in God's ways. This wholehearted devotion foreshadows the new heart God gives His people under the gospel, enabling glad obedience.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 119:10With my whole heart, I have sought you. Don’t let me wander from your commandments.
- Jer 29:13You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart.
- Ps 119:106I have sworn, and have confirmed it, that I will obey your righteous ordinances.
- Ps 102:1A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before Yahweh. Hear my prayer, Yahweh! Let my cry come to you.
- Ps 142:1–2A contemplation by David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer. I cry with my voice to Yahweh. With my voice, I ask Yahweh for mercy.
- 1 Sam 1:10She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to Yahweh, weeping bitterly.
- 1 Sam 1:15Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have not been drinking wine or strong drink, but I poured out my soul before Yahweh.
- Ps 86:4Bring joy to the soul of your servant, for to you, Lord, do I lift up my soul.
- Ps 119:115Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God.
- Ps 61:1–2For the Chief Musician. For a stringed instrument. By David. Hear my cry, God. Listen to my prayer.
- Ps 119:44So I will obey your law continually, forever and ever.
- Ps 62:8Trust in him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Selah.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 119:145 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.