What Gets Your Attention - Psalm 119:37
“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
and give me life in your ways.”- Psalm 119:37
Psalm 119:37 is a prayer most of us probably need more than we want to admit. “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things.” Not everything that pulls our attention is evil. Some of it is just empty. It takes time, fills space, keeps us distracted, and slowly trains our desires toward things that do not give life.
That is why the second half of the verse matters so much: “and give me life in your ways.” We are not just asking God to help us stop looking at the wrong things. We are asking God to replace what is empty with what is life-giving. That is usually where real change happens. It is not enough to be less distracted if our hearts are still bored with what is good. We need God to make His ways feel valuable to us again.
A lot of spiritual drift starts with attention. What we keep looking at, listening to, replaying, chasing, and comparing ourselves to eventually starts shaping us. It can make us restless without even realizing why. It can make obedience feel dull, prayer feel inconvenient, and Scripture feel easy to put off. Little by little, worthless things can take up more room in our hearts than they deserve.
This verse gives us a better prayer than just “help me do better.” It asks God to redirect our eyes and revive our hearts. Lord, turn me away from what is draining me, numbing me, distracting me, and pulling me away from You. Give me life in what is actually true. Give me life in obedience. Give me life in Your Word. Give me life in the path You have placed in front of me.
This week, pay attention to what has your attention. Not with shame, but with honesty. Some things may need to be cut back. Some things may need to be removed. And some things may simply need to be put back in their proper place. The goal is not an emptier life. The goal is a heart that has more room for what gives life.
Prayer:
Lord, turn my eyes away from the things that pull my heart from You. Help me recognize what is empty, distracting, or slowly shaping me in the wrong direction. Give me life in Your ways, and teach me to desire what is good, true, and lasting. Amen.
5 comments
Thank you for this devotional. It is so good and I most definitely needed to read this. I have felt very distracted lately and this devotional could not have been shared with your audience at a better time. May the Lord bless your ministry. Thank you again so much!
Jesus
Needed this reminder. Thank you for sharing.
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
BCC
Praying for you Mary and you are right you can’t fix him.
Jesus Freak
This devotional brings light to what I have been so hyper focused on. That is fixing my husband and his alcoholism. I can’t do that for him and it’s not my job. I have asked for a separation but am still having trouble separating my thoughts from it. It is literally trying to consume me.
Mary King
This devotional really hit home, distractions always arise when our hearts are directed to the righteous path, for me its always when I meet a new person (woman) and we get talking thinking everything is good and Godly but then the spirit of jealousy arises when you find out that she’s not just talking to you and she’s got other people in mind. I need to keep my eyes on the Lord and wait for his timing not mine.
Ignacio Alcala
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