“Without doubt the mightiest thought the mind can entertain is the thought of God.”  A.W. Tozer

1 Chron 28:9 “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole [perfect] heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. ESV

David instructed his son to “know” his God, the God that he served. In Psalm 36:10 David used the same meaning for the word know … to have a religious trust in God. And the only way to know God in this manner is to love and serve Him. To serve with a “perfect” heart is the Hebrew word Shalem; complete, full, quiet, and peaceable. But by itself a peaceful heart is not enough; you must have a willing mind.

How often do we forget that control of our will belongs to us? In the end we need to realize that we cannot fake it with God because He knows our heart in the first place. If our heart is right then our mind will become right if we are willing and obedient to His Word. God put it in straightforward terms to Amos …

Amos 5:4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live; ESV

So, how do we seek Him?  … By faith!

Prov 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. ESV

Solomon was admonished to serve God with a willing heart because that required submission. It is the same for us, a simple willingness to put Him first. Just thinking about God can be simple submission if our heart is in the proper place. If our heart is committed to God in faith then we are leaning fully on Him, which precludes leaning on our own understanding. This is how you build a relationship, by time spent in His presence. Our heart is the center of our spiritual strength and to love God with all of it is to concentrate all that we have in the process. It takes all our heart in all our ways.

God made us intelligent creatures that were designed to be dependent upon Him. In that dependent state He has promised to communicate to us all that we need. It is in this relationship that we are to acknowledge Him in all of our ways. There is not a single part of our life that God is not deeply interested in.

The Hebrews looked upon the heart as not just the seat of all emotions but rather the center of intellect and will. In this verse that meaning translated to committing your whole inner self to God … in all your ways. In so doing He will direct your paths or make your paths straight …just keep asking:

Eph 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  NIV